Pendulous

Pendulum only really managed to achieve cult status with their debut album Hold Your Colour. Those in the know were firmly of the opinion that this was the next big thing, that drum and bass had stumbled across it’s first bona fide crossover heroes.

Slam hit the dance scene like a stray bullet, unexpectedly taking out the competition for the mantle of dance track of the year, and effortlessly becoming a smash hit. But from there, Pendulum went more or less nowhere with the rest of the album, and that single remains their one and only crowning glory.

Drum and bass was hugely innovative at its inception, but it was clear even then that there was nowhere for the genre to go, and that it would at some stage require a shot in the arm to enliven it.

The crunching metal guitars of this Australian act, over the backdrop of the dirtiest of drum and bass, made them the first in the queue to provide that shot. With In Silico, they are attempting to prove that they are just that - that Slam wasn’t a one off, and that they can be more than a flash in the pan. So, what’s the truth?

The truth is, sadly, that they are a one trick dog. This is an average album, and not one tune matches the admittedly high standard they set two years ago. Lead single Propane Nightmares has a decent drum and bass beat, but rather than the crunch they employed to such great effect before, it is set behind an almost sappy indie front line.

Most pertinently though, it all sounds more or less the same. They still know how to write punchy d n b, and the festivals will love their live energy and potency this summer. But as an albums band, Pendulum have nothing to offer. A disappointment.