THE INDECISION - ALBUM REVIEW

The Indecision - New Faces (Do The Dog Music) 
The Indecision - New Faces

There seems to have been a flurry of bands with decent horn sections emerging at the moment and I'm a big fan of a live horn section, that's for sure. What I'm not always a fan of is reggae music that veers too closely to the Soul area and doesn't have any edge. Leeds septet The Indecision teeter on the line between juicy, horny reggae and overly smoothed out, soul and, ironically, this leaves me with an element of indecision about whether I like this album or not. Opening track 'New Faces' is perky, jerky and has a nice skank to it which is a promising start but then 'Sweet Girl' feels too relaxed and not in a shmokin' way. 'Colour Me In' has a darker, broodier feel to it and the horns have an almost James Bond-esque theme but the song never really hits the energy levels you might hope for. Now, 'Who Are You Dancing For?' is more appealing to me and some life about it but it also has the tendency to sound a little like the theme for Rasta Mouse that didn't quite make it.

The scratchy, bouncy guitar of 'It's Only Rain' mixed with the smooth vocals suggest Madness at their peak but, again, there is that danger that this might turn in to an Olly Murs album track at any moment. On the horn fuelled bounce of 'The Love Me Or Die' mixed with the almost mariachi style melodies is the most appealing moment on this seven track album for me and is something that I would suggest the guys explore a little further. Final track 'Water' has a lovely, lazy horn sound in that woozy, boozy way that summers are made of which makes me want a double rum, sand and a sunset more than the log burner and cold ears that I currently have. I reckon if I experienced The Indecision live as my first interaction with the band I would probably have an ace time, drink more than I should and do some horrible, horrible dancing with some very pretty but friendly girls. The chances are I'd probably buy their CD on the way out and go home happy. But, and here's the challenge for the band, if I put the CD on in my car on the way to work the next day, I think I would probably be a bit disappointed and it wouldn't get many more spins after that.


Live Dates:

8th December - Old Bar, Leeds w/Cool Beans
15th February - Nottingham House, Sheffield w/Cool Beans

20th April - The London International  Ska Festival, London

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