The Pigeon Detectives - ‘Wait For Me’ (Dance To The Radio) Released 28/05/07

Being championed by the Kaiser Chiefs isn’t necessarily a good thing.  While it probably brought the Pigeon Detectives  more attention it also raised concerns that the Leeds five-piece would produce the sort of tedious tripe associated with the Kaisers. Luckily, a trio of barnstorming singles gave the initial impression that these fears were unfounded. Opening with two of those singles back to back ensures that ‘Wait For Me’ gets off on the right foot. ’Romantic Type’ pinches its opening from the Clash’s classic ’Janie Jones’ and sounds like a distant cousin of that track, yet is still a fine piece of frantic pogo pop in its own right. ‘I Found Out’ is even better, with a giant football stadium sized chorus thrown into the mix too, alongside clipped, jerky guitars and Matt Bowman’s angry, bitter vocals.

And that sets the template for the rest of the album. It’s a fusion of the Strokes guitars and the Libertines vocals, with a nod to several punk bands as well. Throughout it all there’s Bowman’s voice, which is nearly always spitting out words at a demented pace, only occasionally stopping to deliver a more softer tone. The entire album races by, with several tracks failing to crack the three minute barrier, the band clearly going for a raw and aggressive feel, an rough and ready production to the album. Recent single ‘I’m Not Sorry’ is one of the longer offerings, and is also the album’s strongest track, a perfect anthem not just for those who’ve recently ended a relationship but also for anyone generally pissed off with someone with Bowman’s words whipping by in a fitting rabble rousing manner and lead guitarist Oliver Main getting a chance to have a full throttle guitar solo.  

Sadly, the rest of the album doesn’t achieve the same level. Sure, there are other highlights, the chugging guitars on the sub two minute ‘Don’t Know How To Say Goodbye’ making it sound like a crude, steroid pumped ‘Town Called Malice’ while album closer ‘I’m Always Right’ has some Buzzcocks bile flowing though its punk pop veins. Yet for all the venom that the Pigeon Detectives have, the majority of their debut offering is lacklustre and a real disappointment. The chiming American alt rock guitars on ‘Stop Or Go’ only succeed in giving it a lifeless, clinical feel while the boozed up lad rock of ‘You Better Not Look My Way’ may suit a post pub sing a long but is a real drag here, going round and round in a circle for four minutes.

The band’s lyrics are also to blame for the malaise, with a depressing one dimensional nature to all of them. Boozy tales of woman are told. Again and again. And again. Not that Gigwise is demanding a treatise on Middle Eastern politics but having non stop variations of  “You know I love you, take off your clothes" hollered out grows rather wearisome. There’s no wit in them either, meaning there isn’t any of the sly observations or witty turns of phrase of say, Alex Turner here, merely straightforward ranting.

There’s no development to Bowman’s voice either, meaning while his cracked tone is effective it isn’t a genuinely powerful tool. Musically, the same rigid template the band stick to proves to be their downfall, as with little variation on offer the whole album becomes tedious, only enlivened by the odd bright ember mentioned above. With a crippling lack of ideas and originality on show, it’s no mystery why the Pigeon Detectives fail to live up to the hype and can’t emerge from the shadow of their clear inspirations.