Punk Rock Potential
The Bayonets have been described as one of the most promising bands in the UK at the moment and their debut album, ‘Wishes & Wishes’ certainly shows off an edgy, energetic and catchy sound that veers from punk to melodic rock.
Opener, ‘We Wish These Snakes Were Your Arms’ captures the punk style college rock of groups like The Ataris; it’s a young, fresh and anthemic sound with crunching stabs of guitarwork and emotive vocals. Punchy ‘Ten More Sleeps Until A Good Night’s Sleep’ is one of the most instantly memorable tracks with a brittle, thrashing chorus and tense rhythm that catches your ear for just long enough to merit another listen. ‘Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down’ snarls with latent aggression and brutal riffs, making it another high point for rock fans.
The more melodic rock really begins with, ‘Trample City, J-heat + Snow Days’ with its chugging intro guitars, shivering cymbals and raucous vocal harmonies. ‘Ciao Roma’ continues in the same vein with discordant, fractious vocals and angular guitar riffs criss-crossing over each other. ‘Death Threats’ shows off another side to the band, it’s a soft, slow-building number with gentle vocals and glassy guitarwork that gives the listener a pleasant break from the fierce rock sounds. While it features some pretty vocal harmonies, it’s also just a tad too soft to really hold your attention for too long, but fear not, there’s another brash tune on the way to close the album!
Bayonets’ strength is producing lively guitar rock that’s bound to please young fans of punk pop, however their sound probably lacks the maturity to break through to a wider audience at this stage. The songs are well-formed and could definitely please live crowds but the album feels a little repetitive, and at 8 songs, it feels rather more as if the band ran out of material than wanting to produce a short record. They should also learn that long song titles are fun to invent but not good for listeners to remember!