Like Mercury Prize winners Gomez, Straw have a very healthy respect for the past and a pick'n'mix attitude to its contents. The difference is that this lot wouldn't know a swamp if they found themselves up to their throats in one. Instead, their big thing is '60s British pop of a rather specific Liverpudlian bent. Shoplifting shouts it proudly from the rooftops with strings, cheesy brass and, on Weird Superman, even some time-locked phasing. As a test, try listening to Postcards From Hell and not think of George Martin. It can't be done, not that it matters. Straw also possess the same kind of cultural acuity and canny pop sneer that once made The Wonder Stuff so cherishable. Add in crunchy guitars and loads of decent tunes and you've got hours of fun if played over and over again. Which surely it will be. Peter Kane |