Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There is a kind of magic that explodes with delight when the thought of a band from the Birmingham area makes a single or album that is infectious and interesting to listen to. The comparisons between Liverpool and the Midlands, especially when it comes to its music appreciation, are many fold and yet despite the allusions to the 60s and 70s heydays when bands could mix freely and their tunes would overlap, such is the distinction now that it feels more rare than a night out on Broad Street being enjoyed by a theatre goer and a hen party taking in the delights of the Alexandra Theatre.

It is to Birmingham that the heavier side of Rock often looks and it is no surprise to find that even the aspiring Indie Rock scene still catches the ear and holds its own in the venues surrounding the city.

In Pleasure House’s new single Cyan, the quartet have elevated the standard once again and the feeling of the despondent and moodily uplifting that readily flows across the single is enough to take great satisfaction within; it not only is entertaining, it is electrifying and bordering into the haunting measure so beloved of bands such as The Moody Blues.

Whilst the song is undoubtedly heavier than The Moody Blues or anything of that period in time, the production, the style of grace that comes across is an obvious nod, it just has more beef to it, it has considerable more weight to its harmony and in the end, Cyan is to be seen as something new in the spectrum, the colour of dependable and indie Rock that can be seen as standing shoulder to shoulder with the best of the new wave of music from Birmingham.

A great track from a great band, enjoyable, contemplative and punchy; everything you want from a band from the Midlands.

Ian D. Hall