Thomson

Ian and David Thomson, from Nailsea in Somerset, signed to Alan McGee's Poptones after a series of acoustic gigs in London. Can they do a Hives? Well, their debut album is harmony-laden pop-rock that recalls Something/Anything?-era Todd Rundgren and the thrilling Anglophilia of Eric Carmen's Raspberries. "Mexican Pixilated Sun" and "Loaded Dice" are well-crafted melodies, but then it goes a bit dysfunctional and distorted with the Crazy Horse-style bittersweet ballads "Shirley McGee" and "Suicide". Their career, like this record, could go either way.

Rating: 3 / 10