The Futureheads
If you thought acappella vocal techniques were strictly for community-based singing groups, in which both sexes match their Explorer socks and garish knits with a sense of pride, its time to let these British post-punkers teach you a thing or two about doo-wop. The four members of The Futureheads are blessed with pitch-perfect voices delivering spat-out vocal harmonies, as if Gang of Four became a barbershop quartet (in fact Gang of Four's Andy Gill produced the album).
'Energetic' is the understatement of the year - this debut is more like an irreverent, frenzied clash of complicated math-nerd time signatures and addictive stop-start riffs, softened with buttery vocal harmonies smothered on generously in thick, Northern English accents. And yet the words are delivered with just the right measure of boyish aggression to make you think 'tough', not 'twee' of these barbershop boys, who have just made one of our favourite pop albums of the year.
The album is weighed by catchy, sour-but-saccharin tunes, destined to lodge in your brain and refuse to budge, including but not limited to "Le Garage", "A to B", "Decent Days and Nights" and "Man Ray" but their cover of Kate Bush's "Hounds of Love" is the one that's going to make your summer.
Release: Album
To Cure: An empty dancefloor
Keywords: Bands, Rough Trade, Britain, Post-punk
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