Perth indie-rockers Bravo Inferno have at least come up with a stirring title for their debut album Chasing Knives. The imagery of movement and edginess speaks for just enough of its poppy guitar-based tracks to be justified.

The radio-play track Torque Of Change fits the bill perfectly, as does Bones Are Breaking with its rolling drums and tensely textured guitars, but in both tracks the choruses come close to undermining the drama.

Bravo Inferno are at their rare best when they trot out the mid-paced melancholy that they do so well on title tune Chasing Knives.

They hit a similar high point on Piccadilly Nights, but with added pace and sparkle. It’s also one of the few tracks on the disc where sincerity shines through in the vocals. It balances a sense of disconnected delivery in other songs where the tone and timing don’t seem to click emotionally, even though all the notes are on the money. That’s the story of this album and the curse of each track; half is welcoming and listenable, only to be let down elsewhere.

At its worst, you’ll find songs that go nowhere such as Promise; mostly the same four chords over and over. You need some powerful mojo to infuse the world’s most well-worn rock chestnuts with new life, much less even passing interest, and aside from the U2 / Coldplay duo there are few that can do it effectively.

The hackneyed progressions that fill half of these tracks don’t reach those lofty heights and the attempts sound painful on tracks like The Q&A and Addicted to the Start.

Hits and Misses is another culprit that neatly sums up the disc.

If Bravo Inferno had stuck with the hits, Chasing Knives could have been a tasty EP. As things are, listeners will have to wade through a lot of filler to find the gems.