Review by: Bob Alderdice
Ok, so Caves are probably my favourite band in the UK at the moment. They’re not bothered about sounding like they are from Florida; they play snappy, simple pop-punk with no faffing and no beards. Because of this, I was really excited to find out they had a debut full-length coming out on Specialist Subject Records, and I’m pleased to say that I wasn’t disappointed.
I’ll be honest though, on first listening I was a little unsure of this record. The first few tracks (possible their more recent material?) seemed quite ‘big’ and more produced. Basically, they had a dual-vocal thing going on and I wasn’t expecting it. It’s not that I disliked it, it’s just that it wasn’t the Caves that I knew and loved.
However, my early concerns were soon allayed and it wasn’t long before this album burrowed it’s way into my ear drums, nestled there and hummed away in the background all week long.
The album took off around about track 3; that’s around about the time that they really take things back to basics and break out the woah-ohs! I think that’s why Caves are such a great band. They really aren’t that complicated. Inspite of the fairly basic drumming, song structures, lyrics and production they manage to churn out plenty of super-catchy, super-fun tunes which have audiences singing along in seconds.
All in all, this is a great album to buy if you are tired of listening to bands trying to be American. Get it, stick it in your car, pretend it’s the 90s and spend your daily commutes smiling arse off (although I defy you to smile more than the bassist – that guy is mega-happy!).