Miyagi – Electrosaurus

 

Christening your second album Electrosaurus and adorning the cover with axe-wielding thunder-lizards and a drumming diplodocus is undoubtedly awesome, but it also creates expectations that go unfulfilled: neither rock titans nor electroheads (as the cover might imply), Miyagi also unfortunately fall short of ‘awesome’. The Edinburgh five-piece specialise in sixties-inspired sedate folk-pop, and although not quite Jurassic, the results sound fairly ancient. Echoing historic influences isn’t necessarily to their detriment: for example, the gorgeous harmonies of Faithful Retainer are delivered with an astutely sensitive touch, while Sheep (amongst others) successfully evokes Big Star. But the results are occasionally bland, the ingredients beautifully sourced and combined skilfully, but the product undifferentiated. To quote the band’s wise karate-master namesake, “Walk left side, safe. Walk right side, safe. Walk middle, sooner or later get squished like grape.” As it stands, Miyagi’s middle-of-the-road tendencies are putting them in danger of extinction. [Chris Buckle]