The Yards - 'The Yards' (Snapper)
2/5
By: Matt Tomiak
The Yards: it's unlikely to get confused in the CD pile with the new Fischerspooner LP, that's for sure. The most defiantly retro stomp this side of The Stands' debut album, The Yards feature the erstwhile pin-up boy of obstinate trad-rock, ex-Seahorses singer Chris Helme. Whilst that might have some of our Shoreditch-based readers flicking their impeccably styled asymmetrical fringes in disgust, it's not all that bad.
The best stuff is pitched somewhere between the glammed-up indie of 'In It For The Money'-era Supergrass and the 22-20's neo-blues frenzy, and a couple of tracks kick arse; check the full-throttle garage-rock charge of 'The Devil Is Alive And Well And In DC' and sinister stomp of 'California'.
Elsewhere, however, things are less promising, notably during the sub-Starsailor moping of 'Pure' and 'On The Inside'. 'Only Myself To Blame', meanwhile, is essentially an re-working of The Seahorses' big hit 'Blinded By The Sun', recalling balmy mid-90s summer evenings as much as surely as an alcopop-soaked 'TFI Friday' marathon.
Simply, it won't, can't be considered particularly cool. Beyond that, however, save for a couple of decent tracks, a lot of The Yards, all too sadly, is mired-in-the-past-and-proud-of-it drivel. A victory for the skinny Shoreditchers, for once.
Artists in this article: The Yards
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