Scuzzed up but familiar
It states on their press release that a band from Oxford should by right have any name but this and, if anything, should be called The Cycling Students or something equally stupid and twee. But, my friends, think again and this time think harder and you will see that a name like this is a dead giveaway as to their homelands and fits an Oxford band very well, thank you very much... To explain on a periphery point, both the name of the band and single is, well, young adult. Guns = the boredom of suburbia and need to excite and shock; South Park Quote = student laughs. It may be a tiny point to make, but the money is on other mainstream critics taking this gay frivolity and running with it, summing them up on these very materialistic matters.
The piece itself is a cute little contemporary anthem of sorts that, once you have got comfortable and made yourself ready for an easy ride, quickly pricks up, quivers onto its haunches and slashes your eardrums in one swift movement. The ballady feel of verses, with guest vocals from George Pringle giving a feminine edge that is so needed, as the band swoop down into dark and broken down areas of the composition and then expectantly open out into a full-on attack of big beats and glorious chorus grandeur.
The main dilemma with this act is that because the female vocals of Ms. Pringle compliment the soaring and magnificent twenty-something ballads so well that the others on show could sound a little empty. It isn't a matter of familiarity; it's just that a double-up on vocals helps the message strike home more effectively and generally suits the Big Band sound better. What's more, the b-side 'Denial Adams' is a shallow, weaker brother to the main attraction and hints that the male vocals of Stuart Smith struggle and subsequently grate a little against the soul with a vocal texture bordering on the whiny, with prolonged notes that quiver and ache. Without another voice underlining what should lead the song forward, there seems to be a distinct lack of melody.
This Town Needs Guns will be accepted warmly by those that are genuinely looking for new acts to dig into – especially live, as they give the air that this is really their forte. But, for better or worse, they will be many a listener's musical equivalent of a one night stand: great while it lasts, but over time will be a cool name with not much real association tagged to it.