Riding The Low:
What Happened To The Get To Know Ya?:
Genepool Records:
Out now:
7/10
Burton-upon-Trent isn't known for having a music-scene beyond the usual pubs and clubs, but the town does have a history to be proud of and most of it revolves around beer. And beer is something that must surely have fuelled some of the music on this rather accomplished opus from the town's Riding The Low. Big anthems, just ripe for large crowds to sing along to at the local boozer, are thankfully minus the standard 'heeey baaabbyy' banality associated with such scenes - this is proper sociable indie-rock that will satisfy the sober and delight even the most disaffected, drunk and disorderly.
Having already released an EP in 2009, What Happened To The Get To Know Ya? is the band's debut full-length album and as if to drive home the fact that this is sensibly composed music, they've stamped it on vinyl as well as CD, download, Edison cylinder etc. With Paddy Considine spear-heading the vocal content and co-writing with guitarist Chris Baldwin, you pretty much get what you'd expect from one of the acting world's more talented performers - Intelligent, forthright, darkly-humoured, down-to-earth and robust rock and roll that references the likes of Oasis (minus the swagger), Teenage Fanclub (with a bit more balls), Shed Seven, Cast, Courteeners and even Foo Fighters (minus the Grohl histrionics).
Considine possesses a gritty set of pipes and only on the blistering centre-piece Road does he sound out of control, but in a good way. The highlights are plenty - the jangly Rocky 99, the heady The Dizzly Doo Dah Man and the fist-pumping Great Day Out For The Boys (that's a boozing song right there) all fall on the right side of the fence marked memorable, with the band a capable hybrid of US college-rock and Brit-pop. What Has The Universe Done For Me Lately? and 21's help to sustain interest on an otherwise mixed second side.
We all know actors are capable of making music sound like a bucket of dung but Riding The Low are really worth your while - there's not a whiff of 30 Odd Foot of Grunts or a sniff of Seona Dancing about this collection, it's mostly quality all the way. Perhaps a little long - 10 tracks may have sufficed - but on the whole, Riding the Low's debut-album has enough highs to warrant your attention.
What Happened To The Get To Know Ya?:
Genepool Records:
Out now:
7/10
Having already released an EP in 2009, What Happened To The Get To Know Ya? is the band's debut full-length album and as if to drive home the fact that this is sensibly composed music, they've stamped it on vinyl as well as CD, download, Edison cylinder etc. With Paddy Considine spear-heading the vocal content and co-writing with guitarist Chris Baldwin, you pretty much get what you'd expect from one of the acting world's more talented performers - Intelligent, forthright, darkly-humoured, down-to-earth and robust rock and roll that references the likes of Oasis (minus the swagger), Teenage Fanclub (with a bit more balls), Shed Seven, Cast, Courteeners and even Foo Fighters (minus the Grohl histrionics).
Considine possesses a gritty set of pipes and only on the blistering centre-piece Road does he sound out of control, but in a good way. The highlights are plenty - the jangly Rocky 99, the heady The Dizzly Doo Dah Man and the fist-pumping Great Day Out For The Boys (that's a boozing song right there) all fall on the right side of the fence marked memorable, with the band a capable hybrid of US college-rock and Brit-pop. What Has The Universe Done For Me Lately? and 21's help to sustain interest on an otherwise mixed second side.
We all know actors are capable of making music sound like a bucket of dung but Riding The Low are really worth your while - there's not a whiff of 30 Odd Foot of Grunts or a sniff of Seona Dancing about this collection, it's mostly quality all the way. Perhaps a little long - 10 tracks may have sufficed - but on the whole, Riding the Low's debut-album has enough highs to warrant your attention.