There was a period last year where we at FACT got into three relatively new bands at the same time: Factory Floor, Salem and The Big Pink.

Loosely linked by their dark overtones – press shots in all black, that sort of thing – we booked Factory Floor to play live at our first Lock Tavern gig, pestered Salem about interviews and mixes, and went to see The Big Pink support TV on the Radio at Shepherd’s Bush (we later fell asleep during TVotR’s set, but you know, it’s hard work being FACT). The brainchild of Milo Cordell from Merok Records, The Big Pink were blistering: a collective of at least six that buried dead-eyed male and female vocals in a heavy (read: loud) heroin fug of guitar feedback and echoing synths. You could tell that they’d be the biggest of the three – they had the look, the hooks, the lot.

Sure enough The Big Pink signed to 4AD, and released a series of 7" singles with boobs on the cover. Cool. But after two singles it became apparent that this was a different Big Pink to the one we saw live. The core of the band was always Cordell and vocalist Robbie Furze, but now they actually felt like a two-piece: the power-in-numbers noise of that live show was completely missing from these studio recordings, along with the sedated, resigned vocals of early track ‘Too Young to Love’ – the one that led us to compare them to Salem in the first place. But then Cordell and Furze commissioned Mount Kimbie and Gang Gang Dance to remix them, so we figured we’d give their eagerly awaited (read: much hyped) debut album, A Brief History of Love, a chance.

"Songs that shoot for the Stone Roses but end up in bed with Kasabian."

But on first impression the record’s as pretentious as its title. ‘Too Young to Love’ even suffers by association: when it’s surrounded by the sort of post-Baggy anthemia found on ‘Dominos’ and ‘Tonight’ – songs that shoot for the Stone Roses but end up in bed with Kasabian – the bridges and hooks seem nauseous. Furze’s vocals have been pushed right to the forefront, and he’s not charismatic or compelling enough to take on that role. ‘Countbackwards from Ten’ genuinely wouldn’t sound out of place on a Robbie Williams album. Tracks like ‘Frisk’ turn up the noise factor a little, but it feels like it’s been done out of necessity: a chance for the NME to paper up the cracks in the album’s music by comparisons with Spacemen 3.

The album’s title track is probably the best thing here: Furze gives one of his best vocal performances, aided by a female partner to break up his verses. It’s close to late Spiritualized, which doesn’t sound great but is better than most of the other reference points on this record. Likewise ‘Golden Pendulem’ has some genuine inventiveness in its structure and production, but it’s not enough to save the LP. People have speculated that after this year’s Lashes/Boots/La Roux/Florence onslaught mainstream pop will see a return to male-dominated indie. If that translates to an album that sounds like a bunch of cast-offs from Dig Out Your Soul, we’re already out.

A Brief History of Love is released September 14 via 4AD.

Stream: The Big Pink – Dominos