Having encountered The Needles last year on the live circuit I was really, really disappointed with this single. Live, The Needles‘ mix of The Jam and Buddy Holly can win over even the most staunch critic, prompting maniacal laughter and bruised limbs, but here they fail even to rouse a smile.
I suppose it’s down to the production maybe, or misjudged mixing or some other horrible twist of fate because on this record The Needles are bland. A nasty joke poking fun at The Hives whilst crying for its own inadequacy, sure they’ve got the odd catchy chorus but soaking it in reedy synths and over-bright guitars isn’t going to help anyone, and The Needles come out sounding poor.
What’s so bad is that I know this band can be so good; I was truly concerned to hear of the collapse of their label (Lithium) and their subsequent search for help. But something has gone wrong here. It seems like they were picked up by Dangerous Records and hurled into the studio, and it doesn’t come across as quite comfortable, quite “right”. It sounds, to be honest, like something is missing. Here, on record, The Needles are lacking that spark, that energy that makes their live show so jaw-droppingly splendid, maybe they need time to settle, or a different production team or maybe we’re seeing another British band, who could be, when the mood took them, highly unique, slipping down a few gears and rolling along on empty, lets hope not.
Steve