De Rosa - Mend

There must be something in the water. What other explanation is there for Scotland's present abundance of poetic and poignant guitar bands? With the release of debut album 'Mend', Lanarkshire's De Rosa have become the latest addition to this group of bittersweet melody makers. Meticulously arranged, it's a Pandora's Box of windswept laments and soaring pop songs. By covering every inch of Scotland's landscape, from the arable post-folk of Hopes & Little Jokes to the chaotically urbanised Camera, De Rosa beautifully capture an idyllic nation immersed in fragile contradiction. Sounding damaged and disorientated this record pines for acceptance whilst dreaming of cultural change. Never as clinical as Arab Strap or as whimsical as Belle & Sebastian, it shares a similar despondency to that of The Delgados' 'Peleton'. With such melancholic disposition, 'Mend' is a surprisingly elevating experience - let's hope that whatever the problem is, De Rosa never manage to fix it. [Billy Hamilton]