Remember the heady days of 2011? It was then that
Theme Park first opened for business, the laid-back cool of ‘Wax’ marking them out as something a little more luxe than your average guitar outfit.
Six years on from their debut and not much has changed, which is, unfortunately, the downfall of ‘
Is This How It Starts?’. While perky poolside indie is still very much the order of the day, Miles Haughton’s silky vocals remain overwhelmed by the excessive production and sterile lyrics that plagued their first record. For every ‘
You Are Real’ an undeniable shoulder-shimmy as slick as anything they’ve ever made, there is an ‘LA Is Stealing My Friends’, which really doesn’t benefit from its everything-and-then-some-extra-percussion approach.
Subtly-subverted pop is where they’re at their best - the squelchy rhythm of '
Something Good' feels fun and modern, while ‘I’ll Do Anything’ tells a charming tale of awe in a new relationship over a melody that recalls the glory days of Phoenix.
