My Bloody Valentine, The Joy Formidable, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, A
Place to Bury Strangers; just some of the reasons why this genre is on a very
thin line between success and failure. And now with The History of Apple Pie
added to the bunch of 'noise pop / nu-gaze' hybrids in alternative rock, it
won't be long until a ground-breaking album in this field of music
surfaces. Listing these band names actually makes me chuckle, any 13 - 14 year
old black haired American with My Chemical Romance posters on their wall
will see this list and think it's a beginners guide to emo.
Don't take offence, when I was, a young boy, my Father, played me some Lou
Reed... Yeah, so My Bloody Valentine pretty much have a huge influence on today’s
loud and guitar based bands that we would consider as nu-gaze. You have to turn
the clock back even further to the times of Sonic Youth and The Jesus &
Mary Chain to get the full picture of where all the knock-offs and attempts of
re-creating such grandness like Loveless came from. It may be of worth
to say The History of Apple Pie sound nothing like My Bloody Valentine, Ride,
Slowdive or even The Cocteau Twins. They fit in to the bracket with The Joy
Formidable. There's something about these noise pop / nu-gaze bands that are
driven to achieve their own sound in such a secluded manner. It's as if the predeceasing
genres and influences have had no impact in the recording process. The sound is
cut deeper in to the skin, the effects are lighter, but louder. Unfortunately,
my initial and current opinion regarding The History of Apple Pie is somewhat
jaded.
Throughout their debut album Out of View, The History of Apple Pie
show signs of weakness in structures. "Do It Wrong" is a good example
of a forgettable, back album track with all the mod cons that come with this
sort of music, but lacking the passion and innovative features their London
associates Novella poses. The album starts off with "Tug", leading
listeners to turn up the volume because we're craving distortion on guitars.
It's one of the stronger tracks on Out of View and with this The History of
Apple Pie start off in the correct manner. They showcase their vigorous sounds
in five minutes of build-ups and guitar solos which instead of the Lush
comparisons, brings to like the work of British Sea Power and Interpol. Theirs
undeniably a post-punk influence on shoegaze as a whole, but it's more
presentable and seeping through the cracks with The History of Apple Pie.
"See You" offers further melodies and excitement with the searing
guitars and standout bass. There's no denying that this track will be the
single, its single material and it's potentially the best track on the album,
but faces stiff competition from a few other gems, however those gems as I so
kindly put it, have already been released. The following track
"Mallory" was released in 2011 and the sixth track "You're So Cool" was also released in 2011. That's a two year gap from releasing
these early singles to releasing their debut album. Four out of the 10 tracks
on Out of View have been released as singles or featured on compilations.
Now to me, I find it quite astonishing that The History of Apple Pie wouldn’t
release new material on their debut album instead of placing already existing
track in the public domain on an album where essentially the already existing
tracks are the best. It ultimately flaws the album and brings my opinion of The
History of Apple Pie down. I've seen many times before, most noticeably with borderline
mainstream rock acts such as Kasabian, where they included two tracks that
featured on an EP two years prior to third album West Ryder Pauper Lunatic
Asylum. It's unprofessional, it's lazy and it gets under my skin.
The London five piece show a darker side with the fuzz heavy seventh track
"I Want More". It's a track that hasn't already been released as a
single, and it's a genuine top quality track among a bunch of nonsense similarities.
For example, take a listen to "Glitch". It starts off strong with a
nice bass accompany to some stark percussion and rhythm guitar. The lead guitar
comes in and ruins the mood, and then the harsh vocals enter with reverb and
delay effects which add to the tracks lack of production quality. I'm not
talking lo-fi; I’m talking a bad mix of instruments which focusses too much on
the harsh and loud sounding vocals and hi-hat rather than the guitars. Even
with 2011 single "Do It Wrong'", The History of Apple Pie manage to
show signs of positivity. The harmonies actually work on this track, it's just
a shame I’ve heard it before and already have it in my music collection. I do
genuinely see this as a negative, four out of 10 tracks is a huge chunk of the
album. That leaves six tracks that The History of Apple Pie are giving to their
fans.
"Long Way To Go" is a fine track with brilliant acoustic guitar
production and progressions. The quietened down electric guitar is a nice
effect and actually works on this track. It takes the noise out of the equation
and leaves The History of Apple Pie with what they are, an indie pop band with
distortion. I just wish they would take a page out of Fear of Men's book and
release their older work as a compilation, rather than include it on their
debut album.
~Eddie
5.6
