I suppose it could be worse - they could be called Hague or even Widdecombe but that's about as much as you can say in favour of this bunch. Charting pretty conventional electro/acoustic waters, with a foghorn vocalist yodelling into the grey, the whole shebang is sugar-glazed in strings from some hired orchestra watching the clock as they draw their bows. Blandly introspective and drifting into some whimsical, private reverie, this is just the sort of fare that typifies modern corporate pseudo-indie. Not only is there no sting in the tail, but it's as if they've long since forgotten that you're even supposed to put a sting in the tail - though there is a reference to Fu Manchu that is no doubt intended to be poisonously subversive. The fact that they're supporting Reef and one of their number is known as Duck (as in, "here comes another bottle"?) certainly doesn't help any, either. Let's hope they run into an iceberg. David Stubbs |