Brontosaurus Chorus - You've Created A Monster

It’s rather disappointing to report that Brontosaurus Chorus’ debut mini-album isn’t utterly fantastic. After all, their brilliant name is being dropped by the right people and their combination of rich orchestral pop and jagged rhythms means that Pop-Art can safely strike off ‘find new wave answer to Arcade Fire’ from their to-do list. But despite a couple of absolutely blinders, You’ve Created A Monster fails to catch fire. Love Is The Path To Self-Destruction sets the bar high with its dramatic pulsing strings and unexpectedly ebullient chorus, and most of what follows fails to match it. Matching Jodie Lowther’s sweet vocals with Matthew Curtis’ creepy stacatto interjections doesn’t really work, and on Cinnamon Taste, it sounds faintly ridiculous. However, while not always executed brilliantly, there are plenty of good ideas at work here, and if they can just work out how to harness them, their next release might see their potential realised. [Heather Crumley]