Music

There are enjoyable tracks on this album from the band that hails from Sheffield, England. Their Brit rock meets Indie rock sound is, however, a little too much like Franz Ferdinand (and others) for me. After much deliberation I think overall the album is not as good as I originally thought it to be. The first time I listened to it I had the volume up, windows down, and I was alone to enjoy it. I tried after to put it on with someone else in the car thinking to incite a surprised appreciation for a relatively unknown band. The problem was in starting from the beginning. The strength of the album starts in the middle. The tracks tone down a little and are more enjoyable. This was a very highly praised album coming to us from England; I must say that the lofty expectations created by the hype set the bar a little too high for the Arctic Monkeys. I would not be surprised if you, like me, find yourself saying, "You know who this band sounds like..." more than once before this album is over. You may hear traces of Sublime, The White Stripes, Franz Ferdinand, The Kaiser Chiefs, The Strokes and more...

01. The View From the Afternoon A pretty unlikely candidate for a song to find yourself moving to, but don't be surprised when and if it happens. It is a decent song overall, but not my favorite.

02. I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor This is the first single to be released. The high energy of the band is exhibited well. I think it was a good choice to let listeners have this song first. Some singles are not very representative of the rest of the album. If you have heard this song it is consistent with the other songs on this disc. It is a good mix of the fast and the slow songs that follow.

03. Fake Tales of San Francisco This is a track has some guitar interludes that are a bit more than I can handle. The guitar adds a slight sentiment of hard rock that may or may not agree with you.

04. Dancing Shoes This was an early front runner for my top pick on the album. It starts out very well, though does not end as strongly. The bass keeps a good beat, though the guitar drowns it out too much.

05. You Probably Couldn't See For The Lights But You Were Staring Straight At Me This song is just ok. I may be the only one, but I keep waiting for the lead singer to belt out "I bet you look good on the dance floor..." in this song. It may sound a little too much like track 2.

06. Still Take You Home I like this song. I like the picture painted by the lyrics. Someone at the bar who the lead singer seems to think he is above, though he'd still take her home. There are few glimpses into the talent of the guitar player on this album, though some are evident in this song.

07. Riot Van A gentle ballad about underage drinking. This is the slowest song on the album. It is a decent track.

08. Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured This song more than the others sends my mind in circles. There are so many influences from other bands in this song that I try to pick them all out, though I cannot identify any specifically. Maybe I made it up. Though I doubt it.

09. Mardy Bum The tempo in this song fits my preferences best of all songs on the album; they tone down the guitar and slow the lyrics. I like this song a lot.

10. Perhaps Vampires Is A Bit Strong But... This song is interesting from the perspective that it seems to predict a critical reaction to the album. From a band with 19- 20-year-old band members making their first record, the lyrics that tell "although you pretend to stand by us, I know you're certain we'll fail."

11. When The Sun Goes Down A slower song like "Mardy Bum" complete with references to lyrics from The Police. The story is about a man with a certain nocturnal habit for women he chances upon on the street, but do not let that deter you. This is a good song.

12. From The Ritz To The Rubble This is an ok song. It seems that at a few times it will get too "hard rockish," but then it reigns itself in. This song is more like the earlier tracks on the album.

13. A Certain Romance This song is a nice gem tucked away at the end of the album. Do yourself a favor and don't stop listening before you get to it. It really is amazing how much better they sound when they take the hard guitar riffs out of their music.

| Buy it from Amazon | Buy it from iTunes | Discuss it |