One Night Only are yet another band suffering from the "next big thing" syndrome, having had their video streamed far too often on their MySpace page. In a crowded scene of indie guitar rock, they released their debut album, Started a Fire, after a battle between record companies to sign them. The opening track, "Just for Tonight," is an anthemic song with a catchy chorus and a guitar break that could have come straight from the 1980s Big Country school of how to build the guitar into a dynamic sound, but this is one of the hallmarks of producer Steve Lillywhite, whom the band persuaded to be involved with this debut effort. Having supported the Pigeon Detectives on tour, One Night Only are no worse than them, but there is nothing truly innovative here. Started a Fire includes some good tunes with cheerful singalong choruses, particularly "You and Me," "Stay at Home," and the final track, "Hide," and on "Sweet Sugar" there is an interesting interlude with horns that echoes the 2 Tone era, but lyrically the whole album does not say very much, which is quite understandable since the five lads were all still teenagers at the time of this release. If One Night Only are not going to live up to their name, they may have to find their own direction.
© Sharon Mawer /TiVo