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Ever since 2017 the members of PRESS CLUB have poured all that they have into this project, only being slowed down by a global pandemic — now at the release of their third album they’re perhaps at their most refined, grasping at a happy medium of all things PRESS CLUB on To All The Ones That I Love. The one big confusion you might find with the Melbourne/Naarm outfit is that whilst they’re delivered to you as a “punk” band, the record you’re about to listen to certainly isn’t — and that’s probably for the better. Instead To All The Ones That I Love is a cocktail of indie, power-pop, and just a sparing pinch of folk.
Upon pressing play I Am Everything begins, and it’s a confusing start in retrospect; the pace, the uncomfortable whisper vocal, the lack of punch that PRESS CLUB usually, and still do have. So it’s a rough start that doesn’t instil much hope for this to be a great record. Fortunately, Wilt quickly picks the tempo up soon after contrasting twinkly sonics and melancholic lyrics of loneliness. It really kicks off when Champagnes & Nikes ups the ante for real.
The centre of the record embraces more of the pop leanings that PRESS CLUB have with Wasted Days, No Pressure, and Vacate. Evergreen indie sonics, rock textures, and big singable pop choruses on all three make for radio ready that are palatable enough for just about anyone. They’re three such versatile tracks that you could find people jump moshing, swaying, or yelling them back in unison to each.
There’s no real issues with their third album, it doesn’t have any red flags, but it does have beige ones. Title track To All The Ones That I Love is very sweet, but just feels typical. That evergreen element they have has just become overgrown and out of control unnoticed, because with every track that rolls round there’s no surprise or excitement — it’s just expected.
Try as you might, sometimes things are just a miss. To All The Ones That I Love sounds like an album by someone that used to write invigorating rock ballads, but has just lost some of the spark, it’s not necessarily bad, but this third record feels like a shade of PRESS CLUB. They’re very talented musicians, incredibly technically sound, and Natalie Foster’s vocals have enough passion in them to start a fire, but you it doesn’t take long to discover where the ceiling of the record is, and unfortunately that’s not enough to keep you gripped at times, because there’s hundreds of other PRESS CLUBs out there.
Rating: 6/10
To All The Ones That I Love is out now via self-release.
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The post ALBUM REVIEW: To All The Ones That I Love – Press Club appeared first on Distorted Sound Magazine.
