Tim: Fancy a good boyband track?
Tom: Always.
Tim: Since One Direction came along, there has been a very specific timeline, for all boybands to follow, pretty much without exception – from Union J to 5SOS, via The Fooo, The United, Satin Circus and oh, so many others.
Year one, you do nothing but follow the hefty pop formula with an occasionally ballad to build up the followers, don’t take risks, just focus on harmonies and haircuts (which now I think about it could be a good documentary).
Tom: That’s a reality series on some US cable channel, that is.
Tim: Year two you can spread your wings a bit if you want – 5SOS went rock, The Fooo added a Conspiracy – and by the third year you either have your own sound or you don’t make it to the fourth.
Tom: It’s like the life cycle of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, only with a bit less turning into goo.
Tim: A perfectly decent comparison. These guys are on schedule, just entering year two, with no sign yet of divergence – instead, yep: hefty pop, with decent instruments, decent vocals, a catchy riff and some oh-oh-ohs but nothing yet to really stand out.
Tom: Yep: there’s not much to distinguish this from the sort of generic stock music you’ll see used in the background of cheap TV shows. There’s nothing wrong with it, per se — and that chorus would be great if it used more than one note per line. But it’s not the standout track we’re looking for.
Tim: No. Soon enough, maybe, but right now they’re building up plenty of momentum in Norway, and that’s all they need.