The debut album from this hotly-tipped, hirsute Glaswegian four-piece offers up twelve jaunty, up-tempo slices of alternative folk rock that seem destined for the charts. However, big choruses and big harmonies can’t hide the fact that they don’t seem to quite know who or what they are. ‘That Old Song’ is a one-dimensional Ennio Morricone-meets-Johnny Cash moody jangle, ‘Waking Up Sideways’ could be a Stereophonics ballad and ‘Oh My God’ is like Nina Simone covering David Gray. It’s all pleasant enough, but is clearly trying to be something it isn’t, coming off rather shallow and lightweight as a result.
5/10
Words by Mischa Pearlman
