Bop English – Constant Bop

At first glance Constant Bop just looks like a sixties pastiche. From the pastel-washed cover to the cheesey title, this could pass for a lost Tim Buckley or Arthur Lee record, so it’s a surprise to find that Bop English is the nom de plume of White Denim’s James Petralli. Despite being ably assisted by day-job bandmates, Constant Bop largely eschews the guitar squall of the Texan four-piece and does indeed aim for old fashioned trippiness in keeping with its cover. 

Petralli’s voice is unmistakable and this new cap fits him rather well, especially on the barn dance stomp of Struck Matches. Dashes of his parent band's experimentalism only occasionally infiltrate with melody favoured over noise here. Retro it may be but it’s refreshing to see an artist shrugging his usual creative straightjacket and while its title still makes us wince Constant Bop is a fine album. [Stu Lewis]