The Futureheads

The Futureheads' debut zips in and out of so many jarringly smart pop songs that the first listen is a little exhausting. Keep coming back, and you'll hear something beyond the group's love of early XTC. The doo-wop harmonies, frantic guitars and a tight version of Kate Bush's "Hounds of Love" make this record rock solid.

If Franz Ferdinand is your favorite new Scottish band, then its recent touring partners the
Futureheads may likely be your next British beloved. Hailing from northeast England, this
anxious young quartet shares similar New Wave leanings but proves to be even more tightly
wound. As fidgety guitars collide with rapid-fire harmonies over pogo-inducing drums,
guitarist Barry Hyde yelps excitedly in his unapologetically thick accent. His ba... More >

There's that Ramones sense that songs should be short like life, and that XTC sense that songs should be complicated like life. So who could expect these young Brits to understand life, except to suggest, sometimes observantly and sometimes rhetorically, that it's dangerous? They don't fulfill the promise of the wonderful title "The City Is Here for You to Use." But they do make the most of the bitter novelty "First Day," which starts fast and ends double-time, just like that job they were so lucky to get. (Grade - B+)