The second album from the brilliantly-monikered Scottish band We Were Promised Jetpacks, In The Pit Of The Stomach, sees the band progressing beyond their initial punk roots, making room for some spacious, atmospheric pop within the spiky sounds.
The band, however, doesn’t seem totally confident with exploring new areas of sound and quite often revert to what they know best: loud, abrasive post punk pop which, after a few tracks of the same, can become a bit repetitive and uninteresting, no matter how well played it is by the band.
Also, Adam Thompson’s singing, with the emphasis on his Edinborough accent, is definitely an aquired taste. It is one that can become somewhat grating after prolonged exposure. However, most of the time on this second effort from the band, it is used effectively. Tracks such as “Circles And Squares” and “Hard To Remember” are great examples of this.
Sonically, they remind one a great deal of both Interpol, with that metronomic, precise sound, and also Future Of The Left, with that abrasive quality they have.
While no means an embarrassment and definitely showing signs of progression from the debut album These Four Walls, “In The Pit Of The Stomach” is very much a band developing and finding their own identitiy and sense of sound. An enjoyable listen that hints of possible great things to come from this Scottish four piece.
– Neil Evans
