Five O'Clock Heroes - Bend to the Breaks (Glaze)
3/5
By: Keri Kennedy
The Five O'Clock Heroes boys have been knocking about a fair while now, and several incarnations down the line (well, they are on their third drummer), debut LP 'Bend to the Breaks' finally arrives. With well over a year of hard slogging under their belts, endless touring supporting the likes of The Bravery and Brendan Benson, while gathering up quite a following over here as well as their base of NYC, this could be the time for them to finally get the break they deserve.
Anyone who has caught the Five O'Clock Heroes live will be familiar with the majority of 'Bend to the Breaks', much of which has been their staple live set for the past 18 months. But those who have witnessed the live show may feel that the songs on record just aren't done any justice in comparison to the energy they're injected with on stage.
This aside, it's good to hear non-singles for the first time on record after all this time. 'Good Lovers' is trademark 'Heroes; angular, indie-pop - a danceable track with a melodic chorus that's the perfect example of their Jam and Costello influences rolled into one. 'Anybody Home' is ska-influenced two-step that has Antony Ellis rolling his r's, while 'Give It Up' is pure Libertines, complete with guitar and drum breakdown followed by the most anthemic chorus on the album.
Singles 'Head Games', 'White Girls' and soon to be re-released 'Time On My Hands' are all present, the latter harking back a little too blatantly to the mid-80s and as such is the weakest of the three. A better choice of single would have been 'Good Lovers', so here's hoping that'll be next. It's White Girls' however that is clearly the highlight of 'Bend to the Breaks', and possibly the boys' most successful single to date. The influence of fellow New Yorkers The Rapture is clear, with its disco beat and punk/funk guitars, and this is clearly the band at their best.
While The Five O'Clock Heroes might remain Strokes wannabees to some - and let's face it, it's a hard job for any NYC band not to be compared to them - there's no denying the fact they can turn out a proper pop tune, without an ounce of pretension in sight, which is a refreshing change. Let's hope that if real success does beckon, they'll stay that way.
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