Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Any band who is featured on a mainstream album compilation showcasing the best 20 or so unsigned bands in the UK are clearly much more than the standard 3-chord church hall hopefulls. In fact, if you catch a Montoyas gig at a London club or pub or Greenbelt, you'll find a band who've got the indie-tinged pop rock thing off to a tee thanks to some great riffs, lyric ideas and percussive rhythms that refuse to be ignored. Lyrics are cryptic rather than evangelical rants but their looks at the modern malaise where "no one guess which way is up" ("Tubes") or a young lady's descent into darkness ("She's Taking The Plunge") are finely weighted. There's also here a set of Bond movie samples set to music. One of the best new bands in Christendom. If you didn't get their 'Feel The Benefit' EP in 1998 (don't be ashamed - Cross Rhythms didn't either) catch up on The Montoyas now.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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