The Long Blondes - Couples

On paper, The Long Blondes have enough of the prerequisites to make any pop group jealous: effortless style; a fashion icon/poster pin-up (gender-dependent) in lead singer Kate Jackson; they can even play their own instruments. But with second album Couples it becomes increasingly, dauntingly, obvious that the Sheffield band lack the one ingredient that matters more than any: the pop hook. They may worship at the altar of pop culture with their glitterball glamour, camp-vamp demeanour and Peter Sellers sampling, but there is a conspicuous absence of the 'catchy, infectious melodies' so intrinsic to their aesthetic. Producer Erol Alkan's touch means that it all shimmers nicely, but a cursory listen leaves little to savour. Even the single Century - for all its Debbie Harry-fronts-the-Human League pizazz - is the musical equivalent of a plain face caked in expensive make-up. If only they sounded as good as they looked. [Nick Mitchell]