ARTIST: Public Warning
BASED: UK + Ireland
LABEL: Unsigned
MEMBERS: Zander Lyons, Declan Harding, Carter Lee Alafazous, Beau Elliot, Myles Dempsey
By Brianna Harrington

This past week we were pleasantly surprised to receive a little something in the post. Occasionally we're blessed to taste a little bit of vintage publication magic and it brought a smile to our faces when we received a promotional CD for a young group called 'Public Warning'. An unsigned act, discovered by former G2L singer Lyrica Ocha with a sound that brings to mind the most recent period of pop greatness in my opinion which is the late 90's and maybe a touch of the early 00's. It's clear to us that this group isn't going to be unsigned for very long and that in fact although they're a relative unknown right now, judging by the marketing nous of Lyrica and the old school promotional campaign of letting reviewers like ourselves hear the stuff before it's actually released we can only see waves of positivity coming from this group.

So according to the brief written introduction that we received along with a promotional CD (That's right, a CD!), the group consists of Zander Lyons, Declan Harding, Carter Lee Alafazous, Beau Elliot and Myles Dempsey. They're a bunch of 18-22 year old's hailing from the UK and Ireland. I think you'd be forgiven for thinking you've seen this all before, but I would implore you to read on with the caveat that this music may very well not be for you, but for the audience that this group is very likely to be aimed towards. It's a positive step forward with a reflective ear to the past.
So in the package that we received at our headquarters in New York City, we received a brief introduction and a photograph of the group with a thank you note inside. It's old school on the very face of it and it kinda melted my heart upon opening it, so much so that I've decided to share my views on the five songs that we received.

---

Pillowtalkin'

We begin with a track that has future hit written all over it. It's got a little melancholy almost gothic vibe to it and the use of bass and electric guitar is a welcome element to it as it changes the song completely half-way through. It sends the song in a direction that you didn't expect it to go and it's a welcome change up from the repetitive hum-drum of a lot of modern day pop music. It's a song about truly investing in a person rather than just going through the motions and it's something I can see a lot of their future female fanbase getting on board with in terms of it's message. When all of the boys come in together and harmonize for the chorus which is probably one of the best written pop choruses that I've heard in the longest time, it feels like an absolute tour de force.
As I said this is a future hit and a star-making track, if a song is gonna break a group into the mainstream then this is absolutely that song.
4/5

Art of Letting Go

This is beautiful and heartfelt, it's seemingly about following your dreams and it feels like the boys are trying to re-assure their parents that they're going to be okay as they search for the glory of pop super stardom. It's melodic and has a lot of heart in both the lyrics and the vocal delivery. There's a moment with the third line of the song where it's very make or break in terms of the track becoming cheesy and a little too Disney, “A world of exquisite colours await, dazzling and shining” but fortunately the lyrics that follow are stronger and full of heart and a very realness. In fact the maturity in the songwriting is at a level that goes far beyond their ages and genre. It's easy for a young boy band to fall in to certain traps when it comes to the lyrics but they've managed to navigate those minefields with grace.
This is certainly as strong a track as 'Pillowtalkin'' perhaps even better but slightly less obvious a choice as a potential lead single.
4/5

Summer of '09

Again with the third track, the thing that strikes me the most is the maturity of this group when it comes to their craft. Whether they worked with songwriters or just worked together on these songs, the lyrics are so far beyond their young years. Despite the very 90's influenced sound with elements of electronica vibes from that period it's an emotional and nostalgic nod to a time in their life. It's about loss in many numbers of ways, whether it's the loss of better times, the loss of a loved one or the loss of innocence. It's beautiful whichever way you interpret the song. It's got a feeling of a deeper cut from a potential album, a track that many love but perhaps will be only really highlighted by the die-hard fans. But I must say, it's nice to see a modern act singing about very real things and feelings.
3.5/5

Sit Him Down

This track almost feels like a companion piece to 'Summer of 09' instrumentally. It's definitely cut from the same cloth, despite the theme being something drastically different. It's about being caught in a love triangle of sorts and I don't know if it's just me but this one actually misses the mark. I think it's packaged as a 'good-guy' song, about being truthful and not wanting to hurt anybody. But it comes across a little too vain and self-obsessive for my liking. “I gave you something you never knew you needed/Couldn't deny the sin no matter how much we pleaded/It's not right but the heart wants what it wants/Couldn't lay it to rest, a passion that still haunts.”
To give it it's dues, it's very well written again. But as said, it could my own personal reasons but the song doesn't hit the mark for me. A skippable album track or even possibly a bonus track.
2.5/5

Lights Off

Musically this is a triumph, with strings and harmonies and a lot of drama. It's a big song with lyrics and a theme to match. In today's modern climate of encouraging openness and letting people in when it's sometimes easier to shut people out and suffer in silence, this is an anthem to those that are struggling, to encourage those to let somebody in. This is a positive song in many different ways, but mostly for the encouragement if packaged in the correct way and help that a track like this, sung by these boys can have an effect on their fanbase that this sort of struggle is often more prevalent in.
This may be the crowning moment from all five of these songs, because of the ambition in the instrumentation and also because of the message that the song will surely provide to mostly young people but really to anybody that listens with an open ear and an open mind. I encouraged you to continue reading in the introduction and I feel like it should hopefully be clear as to why.
4.5/5