After reviewing the extremely promising single ‘Godhopping’ back in April, I quickly grew fond of the Scottish Rockers and their silky melodies with laid back production and execution particularly standing out. And with this debut album they wont of disappointed many people such as myself as it is performed with the aplomb of seasoned guitar wielders and it is something they can be very proud of. Produced by ex members of Madness and Dexy’s Midnight Runners, their rubber stamps are seen quite clearly on efforts such as the ska tinged ‘I Love you Cause I Have to’ and the chirpy ‘Paul Newmans Eyes‘.
The band has unsurprisingly been hyped up by certain sections of the musical press and a great degree of expectancy has been laden upon their shoulders, but there are no instantly visible signs of this strain with the ten tracks all solid and dependable without ever setting the thing alight in a burst of ivory tinged delight. Tracks such as the funky ‘Godhopping’ and the cheekily infectious ‘Lounger’ threaten to turn it all on its head but it never quite happens with most efforts content to settle themselves simply as middle of the road, ‘good but its not quite there’ style tracks.
Happily though there are very few tracks lacking in what you may expect of a band held in such high regard throughout the indie scene and the elegantly played music fits into the songs well without becoming a stagnant mess of lulled chances. The real subtle genius that the band have executed so well though is the recurring theme of such downtrodden subjects such as unhappiness, sorrow and rejection. All such subjects and there various guises could prove a somewhat melancholic downer, but the music played by the band has just the right mix of keeping these themes intact and also keeping it bouncing along happily.
When the band do decide to go in a more hardened direction though, it works quite well. ‘Pastimes and Lifestyles’ is a cracking example of this as we see a side that seems to be lacking through all the happiness and chirpiness as it stands out towards the end of the album. The band do seem to lack a certain something though when deciding to take things down a level as more somber and unappealing tracks such as ‘Celebrity Sanctum’ and ‘Somewhat Off the Way’ detract from the overall package.
Weather the band are set to go onto larger things remains to be seen as I don’t think this is the catapult that they may have been looking for. But if they can continue to make such infectious, harmless rock-pop tunes such as this their future is far from sealed to the land of decaying has-been indie acts. It was the name that first got people to take notice of them, but now the music is starting to speak for itself.
Jay
www.dogsdieinhotcars.com
V2 Records