Album Review: The Stayawakes – Dogs And Cats / Living Together

Southsea quintet The Stayawakes were formed from the ashes of post punk outfit Day Of the Fight, with the formation of the new band their emphasis shifted towards a more melodic approach and they are now set to release their debut album, Dogs And Cats / Living Together, via the trilogy of labels Surefire Discs, BadHORROR Recordings and ShoveItUpYourCult Records on Monday 11th June 2018. Dogs And Cats / Living Together will be available digitally from all good online retailers as well as on CD, cassette and vinyl formats.  

The Stayawakes debut album is full to the brim with summery upbeat melodic power pop tunes that carry a strong influence from the indie and sixties pop scenes, every track is an effervescent feel good moment that contains melodies that are just designed to wash over you on warm summer evenings. The main issue with Dogs And Cats / Living Together is that it does tend to do just that, it passes you by in a most agreeable way without ever really grabbing you or making any lasting impression

Dogs And Cats / Living Together is an album that is akin to experiencing a cool breeze on a hot day, it’s a brief pleasure that is more than welcome whilst it’s happening but once it’s over it is all too quickly forgotten. Having said that The Stayawakes do deliver a refreshing cocktail that is formed from a base of The Byrds sixties melodies and mixed with the sensibilities of the vintage indie scene and a touch of power pop to a more than pleasing effect, and if your summer soundtrack is likely to include acts such as Sugar, The Wannadies, Weezer, Teenage Fanclub or Nada Surf then this really is a band that you’ll want to check out.

The Stayawakes website can be found here and their Facebook page is here