This is a review of "The Pablos" recorded by The Pablos. The review was written by Lewis Denby in 2010.

For all its foot-stomping, head-nodding immediacy, The Pablos' self-titled EP fails to provide a real lasting impression.

This is highly competent, professionally performed and recorded rock music. Its guitars riff and gel neatly together, often intricately, mainly resisting the urge to veer off into mindless solos. The vocals are strong. It's percussively fine.

These three songs lack hooks, though, and fail to kick off in the way you desperately want them to. There's something oddly restrained about The Pablos' sound - as if these tracks were written by a band terribly afraid of breaking away from genre norms. As a result, the EP often feels flat and soulless.

That said, there are standout moments. The finale of track 2, 'Preacher,' comes closer than anything else on the record to upping the game to desired levels - though, at five minutes, it's a song that drags on a little too long for comfort. Closing piece 'Open Up Your Mind' is lively and bouncy, and impossible not to groove along to. It never approaches being a bad effort, by any means - but the quality of the musicianship and production values leave you aching for more.