The Spills – Collecting Dust

Caught somewhere between a fondness for Pavement and their apparent desire to be Mclusky, this Wakefield quartet find their heads tilted towards the nonchalant noise of 90s indie rock. At their best – Waste And Pine’s glorious mess; the tartrazine rush of Pepper’s Ghost – they skillfully exploit the schism separating the dispassionate chaos of their guitars (hey, it wasn’t giving a fuck that earned Malkmus’ lot the slacker tag) and the impassioned yelping of singer Rob Slater.

He slips smartass quips and knowing shrugs into existential yelps, but doesn’t seem to draw many conclusions beyond “getting to a better place won’t make my life go any slower” – an overly self-aware young man striving for greater wisdom, rather than a poet penning songs of experience. Still, Collecting Dust rolls along nicely, and if The Spills can shed an occasional tendency to scupper themselves with clunky melodies, you suspect there’s even better to come. [Will Fitzpatrick]