Minibar

Last year, the Pernice Brothers proved themselves one of the few bands talented enough to combine incredibly accessible pop with the easily recognisable traces of seminal indie rock and pop acts, giving the glossy feel of their production just enough weight. Despite sharing a similar general aesthetic, British four-piece Minibar find themselves rooted far more in Americana and late ’60s psych-folk, channelled through a loose Britpop exterior that manages to echo groups from the Lemonheads to Blue Rodeo. On the whole, it’s a perfectly decent commercial rock release, but ultimately far too harmless to make a name for the group, even with like-minded artists Jacob Dylan and Pete Yorn openly singing their praises. Then there’s Simon Petty’s voice, which continually jumps between an impressive Evan Dando impression and breathy, over-accentuated Bryan Adams-inspired phrasing. His lyrics are also competent at best, often veering into the kind of standard MOR commercial rock fare that can only further condemn them into an already overcrowded niche.