Labels: Shelflife
Review by: MH
I’d heard this Bradford band before on a compilation called “Nobody’s Business” that I reviewed last year with a bunch of indie pop bands from all over the world. Re-reading my review, I suggested their song was an early highlight. “Up At Lagrange” is their first full length having released a couple of EPs previously as a full band after starting out with a couple of CD-Rs when The Hobbes Fanclub was a one-man act – guitarist/singer Leon Carroll. I’ve mentioned indie pop and that’s a good starting point but you can add in a lot of melancholy, fuzz and distortion as well as a hint of shoegaze to get an idea of what they sound like. The press release mentions Teenage Fanlub and that mixture of melody and fuzz certainly points towards them as an influence. Maybe their name is a nod to Teenage Fanclub too – who knows? An obvious, more recent influence would be The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. It’s generally rhythmically upbeat even if there is a hint of sadness and melancholy to most of the songs and the interplay between the boy/girl vocals is very nice. Leon leads the tracks but Louise’s vocals are a nice contrast and it all adds up to a good album full of catchy indie pop songs. An early highlight is “Your Doubting Heart” but I could pick out any one of the tracks and tell you’re it’s a good one as there’s not a duff track in sight.