Features

Blink 182 have a lot to answer for. In the list of bands which aspiring acts ape, Blink 182 seem to be unnaturally near the top, trumped only by Nirvana and, currently, the Arctic Monkeys.

Summer Ambition are a band who have eschewed Kurt Cobainisms and ditched Alex Turner aspirations (not to mention ignoring the "original material" option) in favour of a foray in the shadows of US Punksters.

It's a necessary part of growing up, I suppose, and I can clearly remember thinking similar whining things myself.

A grateful world will, however, be pleased to hear that I kept these thoughts pretty much to myself with the exception of an embarrassing incident with a girl in my sixth form.

The Ramones could do this sort of music because they were doing it with their tongue embedded in their collective cheeks.

Green Day could get away with it (at first) because they did 'Basket Case' and took the occasional diversion via 'Good Riddance'.

Summer Ambition can kind of do it - but they're not quite there yet.

Why do nice girls hate me?

The three songs currently available on MySpace cover the themes of growing up and coming to terms with a hostile world.

'When We're Without You' considers losing important friendships. Meanwhile 'This Could Have Been So Much Worse' and 'Pass the Blame' cover the much more familiar territory of adolescent broken hearts. 

It's all been done before of course. It's a theme that harks back as far as Greensleeves, if not further.

While Summer Ambition do little to better the lyrical talents of Henry VIII or whoever it was, at least they rock the concept up a bit with punk chords and rapid fire vocals.

Desperate measures

The songs are about desperation with seemingly hopeless attempts to win back (or just plain win) affection: "Just want to hear your voice/doesn't matter what you say" runs one sorry lyric  in 'Pass the Blame'.

A similar scraping of the relationship barrel can be found on 'This Could Have Been So Much Worse' with the line "Just take a moment and I'll prove myself somehow”.

The last time such futile pleas were uttered, Steve McClaren was sacked the next day.

Ambition

For all the minimal imagination and re-hashed "please don't hate me" lyrics, there is something to Summer Ambition that glimmers with hope.

Strip away the heard-it-before lyrics and polish up the production and the band could well become an attractive proposition.

There is an energy and drive there that needs a live gig to fully unleash itself.

It may just be that trapped within the confines of a pair of loudspeakers and a MySpace page, the band are hindered and too restricted.  

That's a lot of could-be's and maybes, but it remains true.

If Summer Ambition are half as ambitious as their name suggests, they'll keep going and get better.

In the meantime, you'll find me in the record store department labelled 'not-US Punk'.

Summer Ambition are:

Nath - Vocals/Guitars
Hazz - Guitars
Ben - Bass
Rich - Drums

This article is an external contribution and expresses a personal opinion, not necessarily the views of the BBC.

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If you're involved in the Gloucestershire music scene and you would like Stephen to review your music, please feel free to get in touch. Either email gloucestershire@bbc.co.uk or send your album and a bit about yourself to:

BBC Gloucestershire Introducing...
London Road
Gloucester
GL1 1SW

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