The debut album of Dublin quartet Penrose on first listen sounds very familiar – this is by no means a bad thing. Reminding us over-all a lot of much missed fellow Dubs, The Thrills, ‘Live For The Dream’ is a polished and quality first release, and bodes well for the follow up.
The first, ‘See You Again’, is a gem of a song, guitar-led and gorgeous, with a nice contrast between the lead and backing vocals. A definite 60s California feel to the track which sets us up for the remainder of the EP, it’s very pleasing, with a distinct Thrills vibe about it.
‘Melody’ leads in with a stomping beat and an Ed Sullivan-style intro, the punchy vocals very reminiscent of Oasis and The Beatles and lyrically a lot of fun with lines like “if you’re gonna be lazy, be lazy with me, come drink your tea”. We defy anyone not to tap their foot or nod their head to this song.
‘Harmony’, another musically-titled song, feels like part two to ‘Melody’ – the young couple in a new romance have settled down into a serious relationship now. In parts again reminding us of Oasis and the Beatles, there’s also more than a hint of the influence of Kodaline, and of course, The Thrills. The band totally coalesces – no one member sticks out, giving a very mature and complementary feel to this song.
Last song, ‘Where You Go Now’ is the most Beatles-esque song on ‘Live For The Dream’, the echoing chorus soaring off into a psych-pop wave of guitar and vocal harmonies until it finally zooms off into the end of the album.
Penrose can take a bow – ‘Live For The Dream’ is an EP that many established artists would be pleased to have in their catalogues.
Find Penrose online on their website, on Twitter, Facebook, SoundCloud and YouTube. Live For the Dream is available on iTunes.
