Goldfish Syndrome: A Drug Called Tradition

There is only so much that a band can absorb from their influences without sounding either like a complete rip-off or ineffectively diluted. Cork quartet Goldfish Syndrome, unfortunately, show little originality. The production qualities of their debut album are top-notch, but the hi-fi approach ultimately does them a disservice, making tracks such as Alleyways and Hey Charlie difficult to distinguish from one another. The overriding tone is of upbeat indie-rock in the style of The Killers, but the balladry of Lower Me Down is almost Nickelback-esque. If Goldfish Syndrome had been around in the early noughties, they could have capitalised on the NME-led pop-rock revolution with bands such as The Automatic and The Wombats; instead, this collection sounds rather dated and not at all engaging.  facebook.com/pages/Goldfish-Syndrome