Swanton Bombs - Doom

When a band is blessed with a single deal it can sometimes cause a few problems, notably when it comes to production; the temptation is always there to over-polish. Essex duo Swanton Bombs have dodged this particular pitfall by choosing to record their debut single ‘Doom’ in just the same way as all their previous material.

Unfortunately, whilst they might have evaded the problems of complex studio work, they’ve hit another snag at the opposite end. Lo-fi is all well and good, but when your debut single sounds like it was recorded in your parent’s house, with all the juvenile lyrical content that that might entail (“Though it may seem uncool / I’m still in love with you”), it’s not great.

The song itself is perfectly fine, a simple foot-tapping indie-pop tune with some big, loud drums thrown in for good measure; with repeated listens, it does get stuck in your head. It’s just a shame it sounds like it was recorded using equipment from Poundland.