Tribes - We Were Children

Everyone remembers Operahouse, right? I know I do. I was a big fan. They were an obscure indie band, I was a young and naive indie fan boy. We were a match made in heaven. But then I got older, I listened to more music, and eventually I realised there was more to music than bands like The Maccabees and, actually, they weren’t all that ‘alternative’ after all.

Tribes are essentially Operahouse re-branded. Okay, they’ve lost a guitarist and swapped their drummer, but they’re essentially the same band with a different name. Are they trying to move away from their younger days? Did they, too, realise that actually ‘indie’ wasn’t all that ‘alternative’? Is Tribes Operahouse’s fresh slate and new foundations to build interesting and exciting sounds upon? Well, perhaps not, judging from this ‘We Were Children’ release, at least. As much as they may try, Tribes can’t seem to escape their fairly bland indie roots.

In fairness, ‘We Were Children’ does put them towards the top of the ‘fairly bland indie’ pile. Lead single ‘We Were Children’ is certainly catchy and will undoubtedly be enjoyed by many in a similar position to my younger self; vocals are effective and recognisable which does help to set them apart slightly from the Pigeon Detectives-led landfill; and among the four tracks on this EP release (including a lo-fi acoustic version of the lead song) there are certainly some positives. But, in honesty, being at the top of this particular pile… Well, that’s a little bit like being among the best at handball, isn’t it?