The Pigeon Detectives claim to have album No. 3 written, and they could knock it out in the studio if they really needed to. Good to see they’re taking their time over them then. Emergency is the return, had they actually gone anywhere, of the Pigeons. And that’s exactly it- they haven’t gone anywhere. Whilst ‘Wait For Me’ had the catchy guitar pop about ending young love, so does ‘Emergency’.
Emergency seems a bit flat and unadventurous, the formula is worn and faded, no longer is it exciting sing along anthems of ‘I’m Not Sorry’ or ‘Romantic Type’ from ‘Wait For Me’, there’s even a dull acoustic number (Nothing To Do With Me) on Emergency. Sometimes it can be a good thing to stand still, but to even stand still after ‘Wait For Me’ you’d have to be on top of your game.
Once you play the record you’ll soon find yourself five songs down and unable to pick out one notable effort, apart form title track and first single from it ‘This Is An Emergency’, partly because you can’t escape the song at the minute, and partly because it’s a belter nonetheless. Similarly, ‘You Don’t Need It’, with its signature Pigeon chanty backing vocals, is a fellow bright light in a fairly dull re-run of ‘Wait For Me’. The downbeat and fairly understated ‘I’ll Be Waiting For You’, has a rumbling chorus that show one, ever so slight, digression down a different track (not exactly a new one for anyone but the Pigeon Detectives) the vocals aren’t smack you in the face typical Pigeon Detectives and it’s almost a welcome rest bite. Unfortunately, ‘Making Up Numbers’ seems to ironically sum the album as a whole, with its lines of ‘Am I just making up numbers?’ ‘We should get out while we can’ and ‘So lets just carry on as before’. It seems Kaiser Chief territory is in the offing.
5/10
