Personal Trainer - Big Love Blanket

Vocalist Willem Smit was still a teenager when his first album with previous band Canshaker Pi was released. It was produced by Stephen Malkmus of Pavement – the touch of indie royalty, in some circles. The problem is, Personal Trainer haven’t yet grown up. On their new record ‘Big Love Blanket’, they nod more than heavily to the ‘90s icons. That’s not to say the record doesn’t capture the same genuine euphoria as that band – it does, in places. The problem is that they don’t seem to have a lot more to say past that. The record gets off to a promising start, with the title track’s mantra of “Write a line a day / keep smiling” summing up the band’s craft-like philosophy, and ‘Milk’ somehow manages to make a rousing chorus from the phrase “I drink milk straight from the carton!”. But when taken as a whole, the album is noticeably weaker past the halfway point, and ultimately doesn’t say much of anything at all. It’s a fine party to go to, but quickly forgotten once you’ve left.