Brain Idea - Cosmos Factory

These guys get compared to a lot of the old NZ bands even though they're from Chicago so should sound like Big Black or erm...Chicago. Were Chicago from Chicago? I'll wager that they were but if I'm wrong I'll accept my punishment. Half a squashed freeze-dried badger in the post to the usual address please. So yeah, they've got one of those sounds, there's also a bit of underrated London new wavers The Lines in the vocals and the songs poot, stumble, jangle and chime charismatically...but they're no Mantles I'm afraid to admit! Having said that, this stripped-down tentative rock does have its many merits. There's some genuinely hypnotic cross-hatched riffing on the track 'Suspended in Bliss' which actually more recalls Wire and This Heat! in its off-kilter future-rock dynamism. I'd much prefer them to tread in those waters more often instead because they're even better at being a bit manic and weird than they are writing hazy wistful indie rock. Side two opens up with a criminally short breeze of melodic charm before an absolute monster called 'See YRself' awakens from a beautifully languid drone inception to blossom into another authentic Lines-esque head-nodder which undeniably takes inspiration from much-loved NZers The Bats . I feel I've got to work harder with these guys as the songs aren't that immediate but they've a wickedly authentic sound from the long, long ago days, so for that they get a four...