So I'm late by two months in reviewing this lifted-from-an-album CD single. Which is appropriate for a song and an arrangement that could have graced the middle ranks of the indie charts two decades ago.
"Pine" is downbeat but dancefloor friendly guitar band stuff. A lovely Lancashire burr swoops up and down the tune-like part as Stuart Murray metaphorically spins around, arms spread wide, until he collapses into a reprise of some David Essex tune. "I Just Froze" is the joint promotional spearhead (A side) and follows a similar style of Smithsness without the full quality assurance of Marr/Morrissey subtleties. It's good stuff, and more than you could hope to stumble into for £4 in a venue on a Friday night in Manchester or Bolton. The lyrics are in the grest Peel tradition of wry self deprecation and keen observation. But as far as adding to your CD collection, I can’t quite see the hole it would fill. I guess the point is that young ones haven’t started collecting yet and this would be more than a good place to start.
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On third tune "See You In The New Year" the Lancashire accent is even better. Murray's voice is distinctive and appealing. But it is a short tune with an overly long and empty intro and a strange poorly-played guitar riff that most bands would have assumed was the drummer's first effort. I think it’s supposed to sound "interesting" – but it’s little more than a poor bass line played two octaves higher. First class, sociably stimulating fluff.
Interested persons should really seek out that October 2005 album (reviewed by our esteemed editor in another neck of these here woods).
http://www.decorationmusic.co.uk
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