The Inspector Cluzo - The Inspector Cluzo EP

Somewhere in France, Laurent Lacroutts and Mathieu Jordan have been locked in their bedrooms since 1991 with albums by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Alice in Chains, and Jane's Addiction set to repeat on their CD players. Whilst The Darkness always pretended to be ironic - even when we knew that deep down inside they desperately wanted to be born about 20 years before they were - these two gents seem to have not one iota of self-awareness, nor any inkling of the musical still-births that grunge spawned. Thus, the opening track of their EP, Mad, veers unintentionally close to Fred Durst territory, Two Days mixes rap-grunge with a Jackson 5 chorus, Do You Make It Right plays like a homage to Aerosmith, and Fuck the Bass Player features guest vocals from Fishbone's Norwood, lamenting the lack of action that playing a four stringed instrument brings. But it’s all quite glorious, and will probably continue to be so as long as this band doesn't make it too big and spoil the joke via over-exposure.