Reading’s EXIT TEN, returning three years after 2008’s debut full length ‘Remember The Day’ with ‘Give Me Infinity’, have everything to prove this time around.
Landing somewhere between Incubus and early to mid 00’s American Rock with sprinklings of some good old-fashioned British Post-Rock, ‘Give Me Infinity’ has a tendency to bob along at first and you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d stuck the Spiderman soundtrack on with an initial listen as the band have a knack for coming off a tad cheesey.
It’s not that ‘Give Me Infinity’ is a bad record at all, as there’s no denying that Exit Ten have put together a fairly solid if not instantly breathtaking set of songs – ‘Curtain Call’ has a stadium sized chorus, ‘Drama’ has a similarly endearing quality, and the album feels well constructed and made with love. The thing here is that the band make a style of music that, despite the fact that they’re not this in the slightest, is largely so soulless and homogeneous that it’s hard not to make that connection.
Ignoring all of that, Exit Ten deserve credit for clearly putting the work in, and though the production tends to round off most of the rough edges in the songs that would have added some more character, ‘Give Me Infinity’ will be well worth the wait for fans and has some great heartfelt moments. If you’ve got some patience it’ll reap the rewards, but if you find yourself angry at the thought of bee in a jar guitars and fairly radio safe mid-tempo hard rock, you may be advised to give this one a miss.
TOM AYLOTT