There is both hope and much to like in this demo from Mancunians Prickly Pears. 



Opening song ‘While’ – dreams of a sun-spent day with a girl ‘smiling wildly by my side’, shades of flower-era 60s California and, while lyrically it is a bit of a saturated market, it suggests that they are going for a female orientated audience.  If this is the case then perhaps the reviewer is the wrong gender.



Lyrically, second song ‘Remember’ seems to maintain the above theory that perhaps the girls will love me - ‘remember baby that we’ve gone to far’ accompanied with a cool baggy chorus that harks back to the days of Joe Bloggs flared jeans and sunhats.

Regardless of their target audience the quite fine mystical Kasabian/Roses-esque ‘Lemonade’ definitely merits lyrics with more power and gravitas than ‘she’s like lemonade, the sweetest juice I did ever taste’.  A bit of a missed opportunity for a very good song? 



The best of the four is last track ‘Do You See’ .  You could easily hear this in a road movie soundtrack as the anti-hero finally gets his comeuppance.  If you were looking for a comparison ‘The Last Shadow Puppets’ seem to be doing the same thing quite successfully at the moment.



The Prickly Pears are a fledging yet talented band with an accomplished sound and some good ideas.  Tracks three and four are definitely worth hearing, though lyrically three should be stronger.  What they must remember is that there are thousands of bands out there trying to get success and it takes luck and something special to stand out.  I would suggest they broaden their influences (far be it from me to tell them who) – and not be scared to take a few more chances.  They’ve ticked the box with dreamy songs about young love and sun-spent days.  It is time now to move forward….to look for more lyrical depth and a greater edginess in their sound.



I for one will be following their career with interest.       

Posted In Demo Corner, Oct 17 2008. Words - Thomas