Simply put this four-tracker from Midlands based Shoot the Writers is pop-punk by the numbers. It takes influence from those ‘American Pie’ soundtrack bands (All American Rejects, Sum 41 et al), adds a little British flavour by way of slightly accented vocals and proceeds to happily jaunt along to agreeable melodies and playful choruses. It’s thoroughly unthreatening.
Lyrically we’re talking about that whole ‘Saved By the Bell’ style of storytelling; lots of speak of first love, schoolboy crushes and losing that special person for the first time. It’s all been said before and you’d be hard pushed to find anything novel here. Of course there’s nothing particularly wrong with any of this, if you like that sort of thing. For a self-recorded demo the production value here is better than average and the band has obviously put time into honing its sound.
Undoubtedly there’s an audience out there for this. If you’re sold on the likes of Saving Aimee and Members of Me there’s it’s likely you’ll enjoy Shoot the Writers. Certainly that’s the market the band is looking to trade in on, but in order to do so you can’t help but think the band is going to need to bring something new and fresh to the plate. As it stands, this demo sits inconspicuously in an assembly of other teen bands without ever coming close to the top of the class.
Alex