The Pale White - Infinite Pleasure

As their on-stage selves, Tyneside trio The Pale White have garnered many a comparison to Queens of the Stone Age. And while large swathes of debut ‘Infinite Pleasure’ do appear to be an attempt to follow in Josh Homme and pals’ footsteps, there’s something just a little too slick and lacking in oomph on these particular studio recordings to come close to the Californians’ infamous strut. Moreover, any points at which the record does hint at something harder - say, the metallic drumming in the opening title track, or the chaotic climax of ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’ - it sounds bafflingly out of place. And yet, on the flip side, super-soft ballad ‘Anechoic Chamber Blues’ echoes later Oasis (or worse, solo Noel Gallagher), and closer ‘Frank Sinatra’ makes a play for epic - replete with ‘Hey Jude’ longevity and bizarre “la la la” backing vocals - but comes back empty.