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Tribes - Wish to Scream (Review)
Indie | Tuesday 11th June 2013 | James
Just sixteen months have passed since Camden quartet Tribes released their debut record Baby, mixing the sound of almost every great British band ever in an attempt to create short fusions of anthemic noise whilst still resolutely holding onto the novel idea that, deep down, they offered something new. It worked (to an extent) - the Britpop explosion of 'We Were Children' impressed, whilst the guitar jangle of 'When My Day Comes' and 'Sappho' were picked up to be used by E4's Made In Chelsea - but now they must shake that shtick with album number two Wish To Scream.
Whilst Baby was impressive in parts, it fell short in others. As any music lover will tell you, you simply do not get the comfort of releasing two mediocre records in 2013. Even if a record is mediocre, it needs to be commercially mediocre. That's why The Vaccines are playing the O2 Arena this year, but in three years time are likely to on the line-up feature of Never Mind The Buzzcocks. That's also the reason why five years ago you would have found Franz Ferdinand headlining the Carling weekend but now you see Alex Kopranos on BBC Three television shows talking about the 50 Most Shocking World Cup Moments.
It's also the reason why Tribes have descended to the desert to record album number two. You can see why: with album number one failing to set the world alight, why not try and create a pastiche of a slightly different genre and see if it resonates? Sadly for Johnny Lloyd and co, it does not. The attempt is whole-hearted enough, with opener 'Dancehall' breezing along with 70s-inspired denim-soaked guitar riffs and a real sense of nostalgia. Sadly, it is often their nostalgia for the past that hampers Tribes' future. By focusing on their influences so intently, they leave this record without giving it a shred of their own DNA.
'How The Other Half Live' channels debut record Baby's ability to flip from huge, singalong choruses to sunshine rock but the result is more puzzled than it is pleasing. The song references both Oasis and Primal Scream, before Lloyd admits "we need a new direction". He doesn't seem intent on doing anything about it, though, and the rest of the record follows suit in behaving like a drunk wanderer at 4am in a city centre.
With no stamp of identity, Wish To Scream often makes you want to cry. 'Wrapped In A Carpet' offers a chance for listeners to hear a rare occasion where Tribes aren't attempting an overblown, overwrought and over-familiar chorus with baggy hooks and psychedelic tinges. However, it's only a brief highlight. Whilst the ambition is clearly ingrained in the band (they do have the ability to write sterling pieces of work), too often their ideas come across as unmemorable and derivative.
Wish To Scream is, ultimately, a painted-by-numbers record. Taking away the context of recording in America, Tribes offer nothing new here. Each song has a rigid verse-verse-chorus-verse formula, with an accessible radio-friendly chorus and mid-tempo guitar plucking which will undoubtedly find itself onto the next Top Gear CD. 'Englishman On Sunset Boulevard' runs a little too close to Elton John's 'Tiny Dancer' (without being as impressive) whilst 'Never Heard of Graceland' is a clear homage to Springsteen. That's the problem which infiltrates its way into the whole record. Why listen to sub-standard Springsteen-inspired rock when you could just listen to Springsteen rock?
It isn't just musically that Tribes are bereft of ideas. Lyrically, Lloyd seems to have regressed rather than progressed. Sadly, it is a sign that jumping into the studio is not always such a smart move. He whines "all you need is imagination, come on kid, tell them how it is" on 'Englishman On Sunset Boulevard' whilst 'Dancehall' tells a tale of a girl who is "a striptease" and "real hard to please". These clunky phrasings seep their way through the core of the album, leading you to feel that the whole record is pedestrian and ill-judged.
Tribes do have better work in them. The frustrating thing is that, given the strength of Baby, many thought that Wish To Scream would be the benchmark that their career could build upon. Unfortunately, formulaic and rigid musicianship has led this record to be disconcerting. Despite the departure to Sound City Studios in LA (the birthplace of Rumours, Nevermind and, er, Slpiknot), Tribes have failed to find their identity and have resorted to clumsily throwing music at a wall and seeing what sticks.
Rating: 5/10
Download: 'Wrapped In A Carpet'
By James Rodger @jamesdrodger
