The Low Miffs & Malcolm Ross - Malcolm Ross & The Low Miffs

Listening to The Low Miffs and Malcolm Ross’s collaborative offering is a little like stepping into a timewarp. The puritanical production and quick-shifting chords hark back to the Postcard-stamped days of New Pop; each track transposing Orange Juice's spritely jangle into the 21st Century. Given Ross’s previous posting the results are hardly surprising, but there’s a strange twang of sadness on hearing The Low Miffs retreading steps so gleefully. That's not to say this eponymously entitled LP is a grave disappointment. Cuts like the glorious Cressida and Dear Josephine jig with rhapsodic guitar as Leo Condie sneers apathetic missives; while The Man Who Took on Love and Won is a brilliant swoon of effervescent melody. Yet, for all the jaunting finesse, it’s the ostentatious Mankind that truly conquers, knee deep in The ‘Miffs penchant for burlesque dramatics. A solid grounding, sure, but solid was the last thing either act needed.