Shed 7, Sleeper, Echobelly, The Bluetones, Dodgy, Heavy Stereo, The Supernaturals, Menswe@r, Powder, The Boo-Radleys, Lush, Ride, The Longpigs, Gene, Baby Bird, Dubstar, Manson, My Life Story, Space, Bennett, Catatonia, Hurricane #1, Ultrasound, Cud, The Poppyheads, The Sundays, Geneva, Me Me Me, Marion, Kula Shaker……instantly forgettable, consigned to the annals of history along with ‘Cool Britannia’ and TFI Friday right?
Wrong. One listen to IV Thieves ‘The Day Is A Downer’ EP will bring the memories of ineffectual second rate Britpop flooding back into your weary consciousness like an influx of Polish plumbers into a bustling western metropolis.
Nottingham/Texas outfit IV Thieves are seemingly doing their utmost to evoke memories of mid-nineties Britain with this offering - they even utilise the squad rotation system favoured by Ruud Gullit’s Chelsea circa 1996 (with guitarist Glynn Wedgewood and bassist Shane Lawlor each taking lead vocal duties on forthcoming releases ‘You Can’t Love What You Don’t Understand’ and ‘Higher’ respectively).
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The three tracks contained within, although not poor or annoying enough to induce a bout of keyboard-smashing rage, merely plod along in the most pedestrian manner possible, failing to provoke any sort of reaction other than that of indifference. First choice frontman Nic Armstrong bleats out rueful refrains on the title track – an introverted reflection on the previous night’s excesses. The slow and churning ‘Catastrophe’ is a non-starter while ‘Chase Me Off/Out’ broods within it’s instrumental frame before Armstrong’s worried tone takes over , enveloping the whole drab mess.
My day was going quite swimmingly; it was upon hearing this that it became a downer…
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