Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

Alternative/indie girl acoustic pop rock. There, I've said it! Occasionally delicate in a sub-Cranberries/Pretenders sort of way, sometimes just rocking out. Yet another band featured on 'Mindy's Revenge', the song there "Pick Up Sticks" isn't quite typical of the sound but it is typical of the strong pop sensibility in the band's writing. Creatively the band are Val and Dan Strain, both play guitar and Val sings. Happily at home with both the acoustic thing on "Didn't You Think", "New Jerusalem" or "Jennifer", the latter adopting more of a Shaun Colvin sound with a big beat! Nothing though is as far down and vulnerable as the melancholy "Everytime I Play This Song" which is simply stunning. At the other extreme, there is the straight forward chunky pop of "Just About Given Up" and the black humour of the funk fest "Someone Else". But I like best of all the irony of the totally OTT egotism of "Rich And Famous". A band who can hit a groove and turn up the heat or strip everything down to the bare bones and still hit home. Talent definitely worth investigating!

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