Switches
Lay Down The Law
Release Date: Mar 18, 2008
Genre(s): Indie, Rock, Pop
Record label: Interscope
Music Critic Score
How the Music Critic Score works
Buy Lay Down The Law from Amazon
Album Review: Lay Down The Law by Switches
Very Good, Based on 3 Critics
Based on rating A-
”It remains to be seen/If you’ve got what it takes to be queen,” singer Matt Bishop announces in Lay Down the Law‘s opening song, ”Drama Queen,” ordering the aspiring lady to ”get your ass through my door.” We’ve seen this arrogance before, but Switches justify their cockiness with talent, excelling in the feisty hooks and high-pitched oo-oo-oos that hark back to the glam era at its best. If you’ve hoped for a missing link between T. Rex and the Killers (and hoped the balance would tilt toward the former), swaggering salvation is at hand.
Based on rating 8/10
The Strokes and the Killers are the kind of bands that critics and fans know instantly; there is something unique and great about their music. It can rarely be described but it's a bit like the audible equivalent of pornography: you know it when you hear it. This is the case with British band Switches, who are immediately on with the brilliant kickstarter "Drama Queen." Sounding like some collage of Franz Ferdinand and the Darkness, the group then venture into more solid rock & roll with the terribly tight, guitar-heavy "Snakes & Ladders." The guitar work from singers and axe men Matt Bishop and Ollie Thomas is top-notch and packs a lot of bite.
Based on rating 2.0/5
Review Summary: Switches Lay Down the Law, but what the hell are we here for?As much as critics generally love an original band, the thing they love even more is a great revivalist act. So why have they been universally touching themselves to a London indie pop act called Switches? The more I listen to Switches' debut record entitled Lay Down the Law, the more puzzled I become. See, Lay Down the Law contains neither an ounce of originality nor any great revivalist sound.
'Lay Down The Law'
is available now