It’s been almost a full year since Hertfordshire quintet Paige have been locked away with “RECORDING AN ALBUM” tacked upon their MySpace page. A trip across the pond to Philadelphia later, and the band come back with not an album, but an EP in the form of Young Summer – just in time for January.
Kicking off with the title track single, things sound massively promising – Young Summer is a punchy dose of mass appeal to both fans of “traditional” pop-rock of the times, and those who like their music with a bit of beatdown à la Me vs Hero. It’s the definite highlight, even so early on – the only problem is, guitarist/vocalist Dominic Ganderton, who provides by far the best part of the song, showcasing his range on the finale, has since left the band – it’s yet to be seen whether new recruit Arthur Walwin can live up to his talent.
That’s not to say frontman Lewis White should be understated; he delivers his lines brilliantly, but from then on out, the EP tends to get a little stale – there’s only so many times a band can sing about “good times on the road” or girls, and let’s be fair, Paige did all that on their last EP. Not to say these aren’t good tracks produced; Circles is a solid pop song with a great chorus – something the band have developed a knack for now – but there’s absolutely no progression from previous effort If You Say So, a record they’ve put out three years ago now. It’d be fair to say only the production on Young Summer beats the aforementioned – the tracks are nowhere near as good, to put it very honestly.
Paige have a heap of potential – they know how to appeal so well and can deliver a piano-driven tune just as well as any other UK band doing the rounds, but they’ve had far too long to be able to write and record an album, and something this sub-par questions their time and effort in making the trip across the Atlantic. It’s not bad, but it’s not very good either.
– George Cannings.
Change The Record 