Young Kiwis THE CHECKS seem to have appeared at the edge of Success Gulch seemingly from nowhere, though it transpires they've actually been playing together since the grand old age of 15, setting out into the world as a barbershop quartet of all things.
The rock'n'roll highway, of course, is paved with the corpses of such bizarre-but-true stories, but that doesn't explain this Auckland combo's sudden arrival in a position where after one single they can bag a New Zealand Music Award and gain considerable attention supporting REM on the recommendation of no less than Michael Stipe himself.
The Checks' debut album 'Hunting Whales', though, suggests it's the warm glow of familiarity which at least partially explains their meteoric rise through the ranks. Produced improbably by Ian Broudie (yes, as in Lightning Seeds, The Coral, Zutons and The Fall) it's a hirsute, unashamedly primary colours-trailing rock record with riffs the size of Led Zeppelin's Misty Mountain, a bluesy undertow and real rock guitar solos which will immediately attract anyone who wished punk never happened.
All of which suggests I'm about to lambast it, but actually 'Hunting Whales' - for all its' comforting, crowd-pleasing vibe - is actually a pretty decent listen. For starters, it features a brace of immediate, raucous'n'catchy strutters such as 'Take Me There' and anti-boredom anthem 'Tired From Sleeping' which go some way to showing the under-achieving likes of Jet and The Raconteurs how this dyed-in-the-wool raunch ought to be done.
Secondly, the over-employed Led Zep comparisons are actually not that many miles wide of the mark where these talented young whippersnappers are concerned. Opening tune 'Mercedes Children' sows more than a few wild Page and Plant oats in its' slow & sinuous blues-y groove while the primordial title track dunks its' pretty head ecstatically in the broken levee and even encourages a full-on widdly solo akin to 'Since I've Been Loving You' from the unimpeachable 'Led Zep 3'. Nuff respect.
Sometimes, though, the easy riffage and mighty chorus formula fails to satisfy. For all the easy digestabiity, songs like 'Honest Man' and the Creedence-meets-'Black Betty' approach of new single 'What You Heard' are perhaps just TOO one-dimensional to engage on a long-term basis, while even sure-fire live favourites like 'Don't Wait' begin to sound a little forced and treadmill-y after a few plays.
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So it's fortunate that The Checks have the nous to keep their options open and there are several tracks here harbouring the kernels of more interesting potential future growth should the band so desire. 'Terribly Easy', for example, is one of this writer's favourites here and demonstrates the band's anglophile leanings at their best: swinging, late 60s Kinks, jaywalking bass lines and summery harmonies. Very confident and very well executed, as is the afterhours menace of 'See Me Peter' where they let the dymanics breathe in a big way and conjure up a set piece more redolent of Morphine than their usual heart-on-sleeve references. Possibly even better, meanwhile, is the gorgeously somnambulent drift of the closing 'Memory Walking' where the dreamy gossamer skeins of guitar and languid vocals provide a lovely counterpoint to the testosterone that's been spilt all over the shop previously. I'd go so far as to say it's perhaps the very best thing here.
My reservations aside, though, this debut will still be just the ticket for catapulting The Checks into much wider appreciation. They have the talent to present us with tastier morsels in the future, but for now 'Hunting Whales' is a trip providing us with enough sweetmeats to gorge on in fine style.
(www.myspace.com/thechecks)
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