Unglued Reviews

I admit to flinching a little when I realised that this album was released on MySpace Records, but a quick check of the group photo on the rear cover reassured me somewhat: it wasn’t taken in a mirror, no one in the photo was holding the camera themselves, and there wasn’t a lopsided fringe in sight. That said, the guitar/keyboard/bass/drums four-piece do have a poppy, energetic dance-rock style sure to appeal to A Place For Friends’ narcissistic market – but also plenty of others besides.

The band’s trump card is Nate Henry’s soaring, entrancing voice, which acts as the clincher on songs like For The Longest Time, which swells with harmonies, or the bombastic Give Up!, with its skittering rhythm and hip-shaking guitar. The chirpily happy The Best In Me is a compelling highlight, with the focus shifting from a bright keyboard riff to choppy strings to its dancefloor beat. But it’s not all so effervescent – Home is less urgent, Alley Cat is delicate and wistful, and the piano-driven The Simple Life is gentle, if a little saccharine. Still, Never Ready To Leave is explosive, the staccato Alive feels like classic pop, and Middle Of The Night has a sweetly bitter chorus, with Henry trading vocals with guitarist Dan Koch, while self-pity never sound quite so jubilant as on The Only Song.

Despite the MySpace connection, Sherwood do actually have some substance – but when the surface is as pretty as it is on this Lou Giordano-produced album, it almost doesn’t matter.

Owen Heitmann