Kassidy – One Man Army

It’s always easy to pick on a soft target. But, just why Kassidy seem to have provoked such vitriol in certain corners of the music community is perplexing. There is nothing offensive about One Man Army, the production is polished, the songs are solidly written and the vocals are strong. The playing is tight (quite why they need four guitars, though, is another matter). In short, Kassidy seem to have taken every single step to be as inoffensive as possible.

And herein lies the problem with One Man Army: On its surface, it's a thoroughly professional album; it’s also an album that feels immediately familiar, mostly because the tracks are instantly reminiscent of other well-known bands: Get By is Kasabian, The Flowers At The Edge Of The Rain is Mumford & Sons, I Can’t Fly is latter-day Stereophonics, and I hope Nick Cave has been credited for the lift of the line (and melody), “There is a war coming!” from his track Hiding All Away for There Is A War Coming.

Despite the fact that this will feel immediately familiar to anyone with more than a passing interest in rock'n'roll, the album dissipates as soon as the last bars of This Life Is An Ocean/Afterburn fade, leaving little in the way of a lasting impression, like a sugar rush.