Trademark - Raise the Stakes (Truck)
2/5
By: Gareth Roberts
Beginning with a melancholic trumpet before enduring some sort of character transplant which manifests itself as something along the lines of McFly covering the Pet Shop Boys, it's clear from the off that Trademark are going to be difficult to fathom, let alone swallow - kind of like an aubergine.
'Come to Love' is more of the same formula, this time with a smidgen of New Order thrown in, its all highly peculiar stuff, yet at the same time its utterly simple. Confused? You should be. Bands don't make music like this anymore, unless you are indeed the Pet Shop Boys, in which case you're more than content to continue churning out the same old formulaic tunes which are greedily snapped up by fellow middle-aged homosexuals.
'Over Again' increases the speed of proceedings somewhat, culminating in some sort of Prodigy inspired freak out, which at first leaves you befuddled (this is turning into a contest to see how many variations of the word 'confused' I can fit into one review, and I guess that says it all), before settling down and morphing into what is in fact a fairly good tune. 'The Circle I'm In' slows things down, but again, its simply puzzling (there's another).
All in all, 'Raise The Stakes' is not a bad record, it just feels completely out of place in this day and age. Mind you, if they manage to blag a support slot on the next Pet Shop Boys arena jaunt, they may just find their audience.
Download three tracks from 'Raise The Stakes' HERE, and stream another three HERE.
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