Please Describe Yourself

As demonstrated on "Godhopping", the band brim with energy, all instruments and vocals sounding on the brink of release but kept in check by the production, all to good effect. It may lose its footing at times, and naming a song "Apples & Oranges" when your vocalist sounds just like XTC frontman Andy Partridge may betray roots, but these are minor quibbles. Sensibly for a debut, the band don't stretch themselves too much; only one song (arguably the weakest--no song should be titled "Celebrity Sanctum" ever) passes four minutes, and there are no overblown pleas for world peace or saving children. What you do get is a very satisfying, enjoyable debut album. --Thom Allott