New boy group AmbiO have released a few digital singles already, but today marks their official debut. The title of their first album promises ambition and they’ve opted for the kind of bright boy group sound that usually goes down well for me. However, title track Showtime is sadly lacking in one important way.

The overall energy here is fun. I’m always happy to hear a new group embrace their lighter, funkier side and there are moments within Showtime that hint at plenty of potential. The brisk verses and pining pre-chorus are especially effective. For me, the problem happens as we hit the chorus. The songwriting here feels incredibly clunky, hinging upon a ton of repetition. The choice to end every single line with an epizeuxis (vocab word of the day!) (ie: “bam bam bam,” “bang bang bang,” “jump jump jump,” “pump pump pump,” “boom boom boom,” etc.) makes the track feel childlike rather than fresh and stunts any power the chorus could have. Judging by the album’s highlight medley, this approach is used in other songs as well.

From a listener perspective, this feels like either nursery rhyme or ChatGPT. Maybe both? Either way, AmbiO show potential that Showtime just isn’t harnessing. I like their sound. I like their performance. They need better material next time.

Grade: C