Whilst taking inspiration is all part of the creative process, there are occasions where it can be a real hit, and others where it’s a miss.
Thinking Lately is filled with bombast and inspirations that sound as though they were drawn from the 60’s right through to the 80’s. There’s the synth and wall to wall sound, that’s almost become par for the course in todays new wave pop revival.
Mix that in with some pleasant guitar sounds, a catchy hook and a drum beat that’s a little like a circus performance, and you have your basis. Follow this up with a slightly distorted voice to give that retro feel, and the classic themes of love and relationships. That’s the core of Thinking Lately as a track, but could be used to describe a myriad of other music.
The issue is how safe Little Suspicions play it, there’s not a moment in there that grabs a listeners attention and makes them go, “Ooo, that’s something new and different”. Instead it’s a safe song that never even gets its feet wet, not even dipping a toe in the water of adventure.
It’s a shame to see something so well produced fall flat, solely because of its average nature. It’s feels like the musical equivalent of white bread in a way, everyone will find it nice enough, but it’s not something you’d seek out as a full meal on its own.
Overall Little Suspicions try, and fail, to make something interesting. But due to an over-saturation of certain elements and influences in music at the moment, it fades out like background noise. And with nothing to set it apart, there’s little to revisit and not much to grasp to begin with.