The last time I reviewed Pray For Hayden I described them as a mix between Blood Brothers and Finch. So I can only assume this Pray For Hayden are a different bunch because the melodies and hooky choruses, complete with what sounds like a synth, doesn’t come across like either Finch or the Blood Brothers. And that to me doesn’t neccessarily mean musical progression – or is the cynic in me just suggesting the band’s switch to a more modern, melodic and contemporary sound has alterior motives?
Putting that to one side for a minute, this three tracker is slightly better than average. While ‘Death of me’ is catchy and cute, it doesn’t really go anywhere. And that’s sadly something that haunts this band – while what they do is better than a lot of bands, it’s simply not as good as those at the top of their game. ‘Pictures of You’ and ‘Don’t Panic‘ are perfectly acceptable, but just not great. And this makes me wonder why the band have changed their sound quite so much. Their last incarnation wasn’t horrible by any means, but now they sound very similar to a lot of other bands. And if I could ever hand out any advice, it would really be to not become a sheep and follow the flock. However, that’s what PFH have seemingly done. Now repeat after me – ‘baaaa, baaa, baaa’…