Teasing us like a mildly interested donkey starring at a dangling half chewed carrot, Straw provide this taster for their forthcoming album, ‘Keepsakes’. ‘Sailing Off The Edge Of The World’ takes a simple mechanical drum machine pattern, and transforms into an impressive melodic pop song. The gently accommodating vocals and the relaxed acoustic guitars make this all too easily comparable to Coldplay, Doves and that whole recent movement, but its always best when something comes easily isn’t it? ‘In & Out’ starts off a little rockier, but essentially it’s still a credible pop song that is catchier than a cold in January. Images of daytime Radio 1 play lists must have been twinkling in Straw’s imagination when they wrote this. The vocals on ‘Be Careful’ start off in the same fragile vein as Beck Hansen on one of his more restrained moments, before jangling arpeggio guitar not so much as kicks in, but creeps in through the back door that’s been left slightly ajar.
‘This Is The Future’, is unsurprisingly about predictions for the future (but will lemonade really be the cure for cancer?), and once more contains a healthy dollop of catchiness, but this time Straw produce a larger sound, supplemented by whirling keyboards and all manner of percussion. The opening drum machine at the start of ‘Flowers On A Lampost’ is hardly ‘Blue Monday’, and sounds a little too representative of an under produced demo made in the bedroom, and it continues in a similar plodding vein. Not even the chorus is any where near as memorable as the previous four compositions, and on the whole is a disappointing end to what had become an encouraging preview to an album that isn’t that high on most peoples anticipated releases list. Sure, the tunes are great, but the lack of innovation and importance may fire this straight towards the back catalogue racks in your nearest HMV without a trace, and that’s a bit of a shame.

Andy Robbins

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