This is a review of "Undecided" recorded by 4 Letter Holiday. The review was written by Paul Drake in 2006.

It would be great if bands could review their own demos for a week or two. I wonder what kind of press-pack garbage would be submitted?

‘The band harnesses raw talent with pop sensibilities’ could be the studious approach. Or what about the naïve approach, ‘Get these guys a record deal… RIGHT NOW!’ Then there’s the bullshit approach, ‘500 copies of the EP were sold in the first fortnight, and it’s easy to see why’.

There are so many clichés to avoid whilst writing. Like almost everything, it has probably been done before. Bare this in mind.

So what would 4 Letter Holiday write to describe their ‘Undecided’ demo? I can but hazard a guess, but it would probably be something a little like this:

‘4 Letter Holiday are Jon Spencer on his way to a Led Zeppelin convention; armed to the teeth with ‘Sonic Flower Groove’-era Primal Scream riffs and baying for the blood of Bush et al.’

A decent effort I’d say. Dramatic yet understated. Appeals to the right audience. Doesn’t stray too far from the truth. You can use that on your website if you like guys.

In all honesty though, 4 Letter Holiday are quite dull. The same Cock-Rock riffs are churned out, only with new hands and updated lyrics. I’m not a fan of Blues and particularly not Pub-Blues; it’s just been done to death.

This is a band you might see playing on the back of a wagon at ‘The Dog & Ale’ on an insipid July Sunday. Locals tap along whilst children named ‘GerEreYaLirrelBastard’ run riot in concrete Beer Gardens/Car Parks. Leather-clad relics stop to admire the new breed of Rockers, and Landlords count the cash.

A depressing image, I’m sure you’ll agree.

This demo was a chore to listen to, just as this review has been a tribulation to write. So now it ends.

Mr Dreg to you.