Pave - Promotional CD By Nick Quantrill

It's often said that bands use the opportunity of recording as a means of 'capturing the live sound.' What a load of cack! It's an opportunity to sound better than you do live! Due to the pressures of working far faster than a signed band would be expected to, and in lower quality studios, the recording process must be incredibly difficult for your average Hull band. I would imagine it's a bit of a dilemma for said band. Recording music is the point of being in any band, but the unsigned band tends to only exist to the world as a 'live' band. What is the aspiring band to do? Do they merely try and replicate what they do on stage or do they use what resources they have and try to be a little more creative?

The CD manages to hit some middle ground and I don't think you can ask for any more than that. The CD demonstrates that the band are no slouches. The arrangements and playing are as a tight as the proverbial Scotsman at the bar and the sound mix is fantastic. The band has also used the studio to good effect. All three tracks use a little of studio magic to add an extra guitar here, some keyboards there, as well as orchestral sounds that are used to complement the sound in thoughtful ways.

The CD contains three songs. The lead track, 'Make It Happen' is a well-judged introduction to the band. 'Make It Happen' is a bouncy pop tune that will have you humming along on first listen. It has the kind of instant catchiness that makes you think you've heard it several times before as well as a great lead vocal. The second track, 'Burnt' has even more of a commercial sound to it, though in a slightly more obvious way than the first track. Whilst the melody isn't as clever as on the first track, the bass and drums compensate for this with their inventive playing to help the song to work as a whole.

The final track, 'Toying With Life' showcases the quieter side of Pave. On first listen this was my least favourite of the three tracks, but it's testament to how good a song it is as it a couple of plays have seen it become my favourite. The slower pace works well and the use of the orchestral accompaniments are particularly well judged.

I guess is the big question is what does it sound like? It's not an easy question to answer. In short, it sounds like a lot of different bands, but not like any one in particular. It sounds like Pave. This is definitely a good thing as there is nothing worse than listening to a poor imitation of a vastly superior band. If you like well-crafted pop tunes with catchy melodies to make you tap your feet to, you'll find plenty to enjoy here. Look out for it's forthcoming release!

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