the paddingtons lady boy tapes ep

Released: 11 April 2010 Label: Mama Bear Records

If ever you found yourself lurking around an alternative nightclub in the mid nineties, because it was the only place you could get a beer after hours, then you will have heard a million bands just like The Paddingtons.

Opening track Consequence puts the proto-grunge bass lines of The Pixies into a Britpop blender and comes out with an end result which is perfectly listenable but far from outstanding. Walking In The Rain fares better with its upbeat take on indie pop and punk-lite. Imagine Sleeper or Kenickie borrowing vocal lines from The Cure and you’ll be getting close.

A hint of Frank Zappa-style humour underpins the title track and it is certainly the highlight of this EP. The final two songs are somewhat dull and make no great impression - the concern being that if The Paddingtons sound like they’ve run out of ideas after a mere three songs, how are they going sustain any kind of career out of this?

Inoffensive and competent, but far too bland to suggest The Paddingtons will ever attain greatness.

by Marcus Jervis