Album Review: All The Young - Welcome Home

All The Young want to be Oasis. This is undeniable. However, the fact that they are attempting this by writing middle-of-the-road American FM fodder is audacious. Welcome Home is their debut record and it sits in a beige abyss – it's produced to a point where the sounds almost shine through the speakers. However, the tracks are undercooked for the most part, with nothing really revelatory during any point of the album.

It's not without its flashes of promise, though. In full Gallagher mode, The Horizon offers a soaring chorus built for big stages. It's derivative, yes, but it's definitely the strongest track on Welcome Home. Elsewhere, the guitar line of The First Time has its moments, while the drop in tempo during Chase is some proper lighter-in-the-air shit. But the rhythm section is so toned down that you could put these tunes head to head with Matchbox 20 and, after you removed the respective vocals, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the pair. Morrissey has given his tick of approval to the Stoke-On-Trent youngsters, handpicking them to support him in the UK. But really, all this shows is just how out of touch the Mozfather is with rock nowadays. Johnny Marr was always the cooler one, anyway.

With a few spins of the record, many of these songs will find their way into your head, but don't be fooled. That's simple due to their average nature – you've heard all the tricks here before. If you want an unchallenging album that moves along with no surprises, then Welcome Home; you've found that record.