Slow Motion Heroes are exciting. Very exciting. ‘Paper Over Cracks’, the band’s most recent single, is very exciting too. The band are newly signed to Cork’s FIFA Records, the label that brought, and continues to bring, the music of the Frank and Walters, Dead School, Hope Is Noise, and Zombie Computer, Slow Motion Heroes are putting out some great alt-pop. Paper Over Cracks is the most recent instalment from the band, and it’s the band’s ‘poppiest’ offering to date.
Slow Motion Heroes haven’t exactly formed like a band out of the ashes of several other bands. Although that may be close to what they are, it’s not entirely accurate. Fronted by the intriguing partnership of Dan Breen (Hope Is Noise) and Barry McAuliffe (Rulers of the Planet), the band offers a very interesting take on lead vocal responsibilities. Half the time, Breen leads the charge and McAuliffe takes the other half and they both take very different approaches to vocals. Breen talks/shouts out the lyrics, while McAuliffe, who arguably has the better voice, sings much more.
McAuliffe’s vocals would normally be this reviewer’s preference, but on this occasion, Breen’s vocals do him justice. He leads the charge on Paper Over Cracks, and the song seems better for it.
Hands down, this is a pop song. It runs for two minutes and eleven seconds, and goes verse chorus verse chorus bridge chorus. Standard pop length, standard pop format. And that is not a bad thing; it’s a great thing. Band’s tend to shy away from pop a lot of the time, especially when they play ‘alternative’ music, but Slow Motion Heroes embrace pop, and they’re getting better and better at it.
Paper Over Cracks hooks you in with a piano line that mirrors Breen’s lead vocal, “Sitting in the darkness, open to light…” The intro stays quiet until the chorus bursts forth with an uplifting bout of melodic shouting, “I wanna get out! I wanna get out!” The songs moves between the quiet verses and the screaming chorus for the life of the song and that’s it. Brilliance.
However, like all pop songs, Paper Over Cracks has a limited shelf life. After a few listens, the track becomes very ‘samey’ and that’s the price it pays for its immediacy. But that said, it’s still exciting. Very exciting.
Download Paper Over Cracks (iTunes) / Slow Motion Heroes Facebook / Slow Motion Heroes Twitter