Although legging it down to the docks to catch the boat including their compatriots The Marble Index and The Minatures, PILATE sadly aren't in quite the same league.
Sure, if it's assured, radio-friendly rock you desire, they fit the bill handsomely, but if you're after either gnarly indiviualism or aggro-stuffed guitar-slinging charm, well you'd be happier if they'd been left standing on the quayside.
Lead tune "Into Your Hideout" is decent enough musically. It's got a memorable, staccato guitar figure from the band's secret lead guitar weapon Chris Greenough and melds into easily-assimilated slowburning guitar rock of the U2/ Coldplay variety. It's nothing we haven't heard before, but executed well and would be far better without singer Todd Clark's de riguer Bono/ Buckley/ Martin falsetto interjections.
Actually, it's mostly Todd's contributions which are the main bone of contentions during the course of the EP's four tracks. Both "Don't Waste Your Breath" and "Overrated" would be OK otherwise and showcase a band with a Smithsian understanding of melody and - in Greenough - a tunesmith who has a real knack for spidery lead runs, but when Todd turns up and 'emotes' (term used loosely) things really go awry.
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The real nadir is the closing "Alright", though. This time, the bombast comes sliding down the mountain like molten lava as the band turn on the lighter-waving stadium 'charm' and Todd wets himself in the process. This time, even Chris is marginalised and while it would surely be gargantuan on any daytime FM station you care to mention, your reviewer would be glad if it never darkened his door again.
Dsepite the religious overtones of their name, then, the discerning individual will have little trouble washing his hands of Pilate. It's a decision you can make without any guilty conscience to haunt you later.
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