Black Poets - Innocents and Thieves

To all the bands out there who currently sound like Pavement: you could be in trouble. It's funny how history's backdrop defines what's going to be successful; as we enter financial armageddon, bands like Black Poets have moved from being Interpol copyists into sounding geniunely dangerous. Suddenly the angular guitar, slightly gothic atmosphere, and doom and gloom seem prophetic, not retro; suddenly bands whose lives are illuminated by neon streetlights and who wear sunglasses at night have an air of mystery instead of reeking of pomposity. Gerard Lecain's vocals succeed in lacing the Black Poets' post-punk gothicness with a hint of New Romantic escapism, a proposition that might have sounded awful 12 months ago, but now seems beguiling. If we really are about to re-enter the dark days of the early '80s, then you'd better get yer giro cheques at the ready - Black Poets might be the sound of things to come.