Come on Gang / Kid Canaveral - Start the Sound / I Don't Have the Heart for This

Indie-pop peddlers Kid Canaveral seem to be revelling in Magic Numbers comparisons with their turn on this split 7". It’s a short and sweet ballad, certainly more strait-laced and mellower than, say, the exquisitely humorous Smash Hits. It also lacks lyrical and musical ambition yet somehow earworms itself into the consciousness, with the plaintive, Evan Dando-esque vocal of David MacGregor and sparse yet haunting harmonies.

ECA trio Come on Gang! boast quite the piece de resistance in drummer/vocalist Sarah Tanat Jones, whose sweetly rendered yet gymnastic turns add a genuine touch of ethereality to some admirably tight punk pop. Seems deliberately designed to make more of an impact in a live setting, before the really good stuff (such as Spinning Room) kicks in. [Wilbur Kane]