[05.02] I am speechless. Trying to define a sound for these guys is pointless. They're the Blur, Radiohead, Muse, Prodigy, Stone Roses, Oasis, Primal Scream, Supergrass, Charlatans and every other "It" band Old Blighty has produced the last 20 years rolled into one sprawling oeuvre. They scream their little teenage hearts out (actually early 20s, but you get the idea.)

In short, they're England's Great New Hope. The hype is building. Is it any good? I can't decide. They've got ambition and boundless energy to spare. There are swirling walls of maddening guitars. There's electronic sound, samples bouncing off walls. There's a heavy metal song preceded by electronic doodles. There's doom and gloom. They apparently are an amazing live act. They had an unlikely Top 40 hit in the UK with "Kill All Music." The ingredients are all there.

The aforementioned "Kill All Music" is actually kinda dumb. The hook is probably the only one that sticks in the mind after the first and second listen, but it's not very satisfying. The rest of the album is far more interesting. "Did you Miss Me" has a great Pink Floyd-esque intro, and morphs into a more current electronic song with some rather aggressive vocals. Track 3 is a driving rocker. And it just keeps genre-hopping. Yup, there's prog-rock in here, too. There's straight, acoustic brit-pop in Track 6. "The Murder Song" is epic Brit-pop-rock that's perhaps simplistic, yet enjoyable to a certain extent. I actually think the limited edition-only track "I'll Still Write" is the best track, with its strumming acoustic guitar and shimmering build-up with a quivering synth leading the charge.

I think the thing I miss is the song writing. There's no shortage of ideas, no lack of trying. But do I remember any of the songs after the CD is done playing? Do they make me weak in the knees? Not really. Is it interesting? Yeah, I guess. Will I play this album in five years' time? Uhm, probably not. Could they become huge? They sure have a shot at it, and if they can get some more discipline into their songwriting without losing their enthusiasm they could probably go very far. Bummer. Cuz one European review had me convinced this was Godspeed You Black Emperor!-like. No way. Ah well, I continue awaiting anxiously the new Doves CD. Oh, and I seem to breaking my own rule of only reviewing albums I love a little bit too frequently lately. Somebody feed me something new! —Nils