It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for Little Fish during the past few years. After signing to hit-maker extraordinaire Linda Perry’s Custard Records, the band recorded an album in Los Angeles, toured with the likes of Alice in Chains, Spinerette, Blondie and Hole, and played at Reading Festival and on their own tours across the UK. Now, having parted ways with Custard Records, the band has returned to their Oxford roots to record their next album in Gaz Coombes’ basement.

Some may view this change of circumstances as something of a sophomore slump, but whatever the story behind the separation may be, ‘Wonderful’ shows no signs of a band struggling to carry on. In fact the band seems more comfortable than ever, perhaps bolstered by the addition of Ben Walker on Hammond organ, who gives the band an almost spiritual lift on this song. Musically, ‘Wonderful’ deviates from the garage rock furore of old, in favour of a more mainstream sound, a more relaxed mood and a more personal message.That’s not to say that the band are slouching – the chorus has enough victorious pomp about it to get crowds jumping and singing along, and those who are fans of the band via PJ Harvey will find plenty to like about ‘Wonderful’. Concerning a period in singer Juju’s life when she was told she would never be able to sing again, Juju almost overcompensates here, taking her Patti Smith-isms to new levels, although now she sounds more like the mature Smith on ‘E-Bow the Letter’ than the young one on ‘Gloria’.

So, an interesting new step in Little Fish’s career then, but by no means a revolutionary one. Juju’s voice has always invited comparisons to Patti Smith and PJ Harvey, so it would be nice to see her flourish into a more idiosyncratic singer on future releases, to give fans and critics something more unique to love about the band. But as far as Oxford bands go, Little Fish have the potential to go far indeed. Don’t be surprised if you hear ‘Wonderful’ a lot in the coming months.

Buy ‘Wonderful’ at the Little Fish website
By Tom McKibbin

Here’s the video for ‘Wonderful':