Unlike the majority of young bands who are exercising their independence and going the cottage industry route (one that W&H thoroughly approve of), THE QUESTIONNAIRES are actually a much-respected duo from Newcastle-upon-Tyne boasting impressive track records.
Guitarist/ multi-istrumentalist Steve Hall once played with ex-Animal Hilton Valentine's Roxoff during the 1970s and also played with the Eastside Torpedoes, while vocalist Jane Wade once featured in The Posh Monkeys and has considerable theatre experience in theatre work having previously undertaken one-woman shows about Alma Cogan and Lotte Lenya respectively.
So it's no surprise that their talents combine effectively in The Questionnaires, and in "Arctic Circles" they have forged an enjoyable and soulful pop album with hooks aplenty and Jane's terrific, sophisticated voice to the fore.
This writer did initially harbour reservations, as the album kicks off with two bright, but rather hackneyed tunes in "Ghosts In Your Eyes" and "Madmen Do The Business". Certainly the wryly-observed latter ("With a gun and a bible...think you've thought of everything") hits home lyrically in this uneasy climate, but the incessant drum machine and fast-rising spectre of Deacon Blue ensure both songs remain mired in a slick, overtly '80s groove; a problem that also blights he worryingly Sade-ish "Feel The Shock Of Something New" as the album hits the home strait.
Happily, though, Hall and Wade's class tells elsewhere. "Forty Years Of Peace" opens with the strident refrain "forty years of peace, 30 million dead!" that you'd probably sooner associate with Crass or The Exploited, but the God-moves-mysteriously-while-humans-suffer message and the nicely clipped guitar solo soon get you onside and most of what follows works well, with the urban blues of "East End West End", the experience-fuelled "Hanging Onto Anything That Moves" and "Building The Pyramids" all maintaining the sophisticated vibe and gritty lyricism these two excel at.
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If pushed, though, this writer would choose "Walking Wounded", "I'm Not Strong Enough" and the closing "It Always Rains On Saturday" as the pick of the crop. "Walking Wounded" (not to be confused with Everything But The Girl) has a tricky, noir-ish vibe, with congas and stabs of organ and finds Wade relating a wholly credible singles bar tale ("Anyone who's anybody drinking long-necked beer"); "I'm Not Strong Enough" introduces a Portishead-y feel with nice, John Barry-esque baritone guitar and the very best is reserved for last with "It Always Rains On Saturday", which has a resigned, morning after vibe full of poignancy, sumptuous sax, plcuked strings and Jane's most gorgeous dark brown vocal.
"Arctic Circles" does possess a few imperfections and a live drummer would be a major boon, but gripes aside, The Questionnaires are certainly a classy, urbane act with a neat line in cool, sophisto-pop and there should always be a place for that.
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