After a couple of years where their internet presence frequently eclipsed their slender musical talents Secret Rivals’ new EP suggests they’re finally letting their music do the talking and the music has found the backbone to make an impact.
Lead track `It Would Be Colder Here Without You’ fizzes buoyantly in a Diet Coke kind of way, Wedding Present fuzz doused in Los Campesinos twee-pop jollity and jangle, the female singer Cloud’s clipped delivery giving it a neatly precise feel, and she could probably cope better without the interruptions from shouty male sparring partner Jay, who sounds like that irritating monkey boy who ruined all of The Automatic’s early songs.
Similarly `Prone To Explosions’ has a demure, quintessentially English indie-pop feel of the sort Heavenly used to excel at and The Would-Be-Goods still do. `Slow Learner’, by comparison, is brash and less coherent, a tinny, half-formed take on Long Blondes’ angsty fem-pop but at least sounds spirited and more than capable of punching its way out of a paper bag.
There’s still a feeling that Secret Rivals are locked too firmly in the indie ghetto’s 80s and 90s glory days and need to find a sound that’s more their own, but this is a big step up from previous efforts and maybe soon they can convince us there’s a decent pop band in there after all.