Piano Wire – Dream Underground (Hanging Houses)

Genre – Alt Rock

Formed from the ashes of one of the most influential guitar bands of the naughties (The Eighties Matchbox B-line Disaster), Piano Wire has arrived with a debut album that will get some fans excited.

In October 2016, the five piece released their first single off the album in the form of Cherry Coma, a track filled with scratching guitars and big vocals. The track received all round praise and made people sit up and take notice.

This track set the prescient for the album, which continues on the same note through. There are plenty of big sounds on offer. Its 100 miles per hour from start to finish, and it has you racing when you play it at volume.

That where the problems start to arise. What happens when you play this album at a normal level? Do all rock albums not get the blood pumping when they’re blasted at full force?

Dream Underground is by no means a bad album, but in truth, it’s a bit bland. The lyrics are unlikely to grab your attention and each song has a tendency to run into the next.

From the opening chords of Get A Life, you’re hit with some nice sounds. Nice riffs, but not exactly bad- ass. They’re not pungent enough to really grab you, and at times they’re overly simplistic, to say the least.

Outline Of A Massacre continues in the same vein, with repetition galore both lyrically and sonically. This sound is mirrored in All Roads Lead To God, which is seemingly the same song with different lyrics.

Overall this is an album that flatters to deceive. Listen to each song individually and you’ll be impressed. Listen to the album as a whole and the chances are you’ll be bored half way through.

For a band that set out to make a massive, chaotic, psychedelic punk record, Piano Wire has failed spectacularly.

RUSHONROCK RATED – 5/10 Toothless.

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