Songs They Never Play On The Radio, by Repomen (CD)

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Its taken a while but at last the RepoMen long player is finally here. Released hot on the heels of their fizzing split single with fellow label mates Screaming Mimi, its been well worth the wait. Hailing from Sheffield, the four-piece guitar-combo take their name from Alex Cox's 80's US cult flick 'Repoman'. To the LP itself. "Songs they never play on the radio" brims with ideas and a song-writing craft that draws on a myriad of influences, including XTC, Magazine, That Petrol Emotion, The Undertones and The Violent Femmes. From the brutal riffing of opener "She lies", to the Cure-esque swirl of Fold , and through to washing acoustic tones of closing track "Dive...diver", its hard to find a weak link in the bands song-writing prowess. As narratives of bungled burglaries, intrigue, lost love and a post-hurricane New Orleans unfurl, it becomes plainly clear that we have a band here who hold the importance of a good lyric in as high esteem as a catchy tune. Stand out tracks include aforementioned single "Trophy", a 'crunching slice of vein pumping pop that tunes craftily into the reinvigorated mindset of the latter day Buzzcocks as though being hotwired and infused with the light pours out of me era Magazine' (Losing Today Fanzine). Matriarchal horns pepper the up-beat and downright danceable Dietrich and theres even room for a reinterpretation of Enos Needles in the camel's eye. They certainly aren't the next Arctic Monkeys, but Sheffields best kept secrets have a keen ear for a good melody in their choppy off-kilter pop. Hopefully this charming debut will start to create a few waves and prove the albums title to be merely an exercise in contradiction.

Other items by Repomen:

Star EP by Repomen (CD single, £3.49)