Prides - The Way Back Up

There’s no denying that Prides are capable of writing some right bangers. From the euphoric electro pop of ‘Messiah’ to the sweetly addictive ‘Higher Love’, the Glasgow-based trio clearly knew no bounds when it came to their first few offerings to the world.

Now, though - having already totted up quite the list of achievements - their sights have turned to a full album. Admittedly pieced together over the past two years, it’s a factor that’s evident from the get go.

While the record offers up all of the highlights from the band so far - including the likes of bubbly opener ‘I Should Know Better’ and the somewhat reflective ‘Let It Go’ - somehow the full-length doesn’t quite reach the tremendous heights that first feel possible. While the warm synths and giant choruses of the opening tracks get the album off to a shimmying start things soon feel to take a more mid-paced turn.

Piano ballad ‘Same Mistakes’ stands as a quiet and delicate offering which changes the atmosphere of the record completely. The familiar opening notes of ‘Out Of The Blue’ mark a return to the more energetic side of the band’s talents, but the giddy enthusiasm of the record’s first half isn’t quite reached again.

If Prides have achieved anything with ‘The Way Back Up’, it’s becoming unafraid of experimentation, and being capable of giving just about anything a go. That’s the beauty of a debut record, after all; it opens up a band’s strengths and teaches how to play to them, and that’s an invaluable lesson for any band.