Pete & The Pirates - One Thousand Pictures

Heard these lot on t'wireless the other day and it makes a bloody good change from your usual Elbow style histrionics that seem to pervade the airwaves with alarming regularity these days or your Radio 2 r&b or indie landfill and nothing in between ethos. They peddle a superior brand of indie which relies on good tunes and energy to rise above the tedium. They exist in that vacuum of very British bands and comparisons from the past emerge in the shape of The Kinks, Adam and the Ants, XTC and Blur. On tracks like 'Little Gun' they provide an out of nowhere chorus as catchy as a crowbar, whilst on 'Come to the Bar' they are unafraid of throwing Kraftwerk style synths into the equation contrasting with the clipped observational lyrics, like Ray Davies fronting a 1979 New Wave outfit. 'Winter 1' develops nicely into a Moroder like trance but naturally so. Whereas on the excellent 'Washing Powder' the storytelling aspect really comes to the fore reminding me again of The Kinks or Madness's kitchen sink confessionals. Impressive stuff that could only really be made in the Shires of England but one that steals nicely from some of the unsung heroes of the past but has songwriting memorable enough to allow it to stand up of its own accord.