Cutaways - Earth and Earthly Things

Cardiff has Los Campesinos!, Glasgow has Dananananaykroyd, and now Belfast weighs in with their power-pop, equal-opportunity vocalled Cutaways. The two former groups are obvious points of comparison as all three show an affinity for pop music with a bit of an edge to it. While not approaching the ferocity of ’aykroyd or the urgency of Campesinos, Cutaways still leave a positive impression with Earth and Earthly Things. Songs like Hey Map My Way exhibit engaging hooks with guitar and synth alike, and the vocals show enough heart to keep the tracks from being shrugged off as throwaway ditties. But it’s on A Better Paul where the trio show their best sense of range, as the track bounces from soaring guitar pop to solemn ivory tickling, then straight into an electro breakdown, all but cementing it as the best on the LP. Late contender Lights employs a kiddie synth riff that can’t help but make you smile – and that’s about the point you realise that’s all a good pop record really needs to do.