The Voyces Kissing Like It's Love

Thanks to the inclusion of a song on the soundtrack to Jack Johnson’s Thicker Than Water, the Voyces gained a nice bump in their exposure. And it isn’t hard to understand why their contribution turned heads, being reminiscent of Simon & Garfunkel or an acoustic Matthew Sweet. So, hopes were high for their third album, Kissing Like It’s Love. It all starts off gloriously enough with the title track, which is a wonderful, upbeat, folk-y pop song that hints at what might follow. Except it doesn’t. For some reason the band begin to wander away from what could be a successful template and meander all over the map. Instead of lovely vocal harmonies and memorable tunes, the songs begin to sound more dirge-like, with cloying lyrics, and after such a great opening it comes as a huge disappointment. Kissing Like It’s Love is frustratingly close to being a good album; the band demonstrate that they can write great songs but there’s still something lacking. Maybe next time. (Planting Seeds)

• More Voyces