Cancel The Astronauts
Animal Love Match
(Riley Records)
Twenty-five years ago, tuned into John Peel on a nightly basis, I'd hear bands that sounded a bit like Cancel The Astronauts do today. Although the great man is no longer with us, the indie end of his taste spectrum lives on in brilliant wee snatches of three-minute guitar-pop such as I Am The President Of Your Fanclub (And Last Night I Followed You Home) and Funny For A Girl.
Neither of these tracks from the Edinburgh quintet's early EPs features on their debut album, but that's a sure sign of confidence in their songwriting ability and an acknowledgement that previous debts to other bands have now been paid in full (although they still probably owe The Strokes a couple of quid).
Recent singles Seven Vices and Intervention are included, however, and are better markers of how Cancel The Astronauts have found their own musical footing since playing the T Break stage at T in the Park last year. Lyrical shadows linger over the bright corners of hook-laden tunes, adding quirky depth to an infectious set of songs that trip over each other in their giddy haste to sprint out from the starting blocks.
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