The Strange Boys - Be Brave

Listening to The Strange Boys’ UK debut, you can understand why Rough Trade was so quick to snap up the Texans. Echoes of The Strokes and Libertines resonate throughout the six-piece’s second album but, unlike their ‘illustrious’ label-mates, The Strange Boys’ first foray into the British market may struggle to make any meaningful impact.

That’s not to say Be Brave doesn’t have its moments, but with most of them coming early on it's a somewhat lop-sided affair. Laden with hooks, songs like I See, A Walk On The Bleach and Friday In Paris may not be groundbreaking but do show The Strange Boys are more than capable of recreating the kind of quirky, garage-rock that wouldn't feel out-of-place on a Nuggets compilation.

Possibly the biggest issue however lies with Ryan Sambol's heavily affected vocals – think cartoon hound Droopy singing Rod Stewart and you're on the right track. [Andy Kerr]