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Theme Park are a light hearted indie-pop four piece from London who have generated a substantial amount of internet buzz following the release of their singles ‘A Mountain We Love’ and ‘Wax’ in August of this year. They’re catchy and upbeat, and no doubt aspiring indie kids all over the country will be charmed by their melodic vignettes. So far they’ve been compared to The Talking Heads, but it seems that Theme Park have failed at this point to do much more than recycle a dream pop sound with a retro edge; undeniably catchy but lacking in any real depth or originality (‘Wax’ sounds disconcertingly similar at points to a certain Jamie XX remix).
That said, there is something nicely David Byrne-ish about the voice of lead singer Miles Haughton and this is where the strength of the band really lies. Haughton rescues Theme Park from sounding too trite by providing a mellowness which compliments the upbeat nature of melodies that can occasionally run the risk of being overbearing in their repetition - their aforementioned track Wax being an example of this.
Listening at home I was unconvinced of the bands ability to deliver something special live but was happily mistaken. Although Theme Park were preceded by The Sundowners and Childhood, two up-and-coming bands each with an individuality that made Theme Park’s sound seem a little formulaic in comparison, their simple and relentlessly cheerful set was impossible not to enjoy. They gave a polished and energetic performance and it quickly became apparent that part of the fun of their music is seeing them bop along to it and enjoy it as much as the crowd- in fact, the immediacy and authenticity of the live performance is something that is perhaps currently missing from their recorded tracks.
Theme Park is most certainly one to watch and any fans of Vampire Weekend and Bombay Bicycle Club would do themselves a favour to follow their progress. The future is bright for this band, but at the moment this is largely due to their ability to be accessible and fun rather than their ability to craft music with any real integrity. Beneath their poppy veneer is a lack of something truly inspiring, but this four piece have shown a glimmer of the potential to develop into something more.
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