The music of Falmouth five-piece Moreish Idols is part Art Rock and part Britpop. Those genres are both long since their peaks, but this lot find a way to inject some currency into the forms. There's enough juice in the grooves of All in the Game, their new record, as to raise an eyebrow or two.
Opener "Ambergrin" is lovely, a bit like this album's "Beetlebum", while "Railway" is more angular. This one reminds me of The Young Knives, or even the more listenable bits of Squid or other contemporaries like them. The Floyd-y vocals in the chorus make this a good deal more memorable than my prose suggests though. Similarly, a hint of The Beta Band creeps through into "Sundog", a highlight here. That one, and "Pale Blue Dot" charm quite a bit, maybe even more than "Dream Pixel", the more complex single.
Moreish Idols are best when they are trying to meld a kind of lyricism to their arty aspirations. In those moments, there's a neat juxtaposition happening between the catchy hooks and the more abrasive elements working their way into the grooves. The band's clearly staking out ground that's different from that being covered by many in the UK at the moment.
All in the Game by Moreish Idols is out now via Speedy Wunderground.
[Photo: Caspar Swindells]