Spotlight Kid - Departure

Formed from the ashes of Six By Seven and Bent, Spotlight Kid is the creation of Chris Davis. Aiming to cut a glance at the days of 90s psychedelia, the nod is more towards mid-90s guitar based indie-rock with floating keyboards adding a slight sparkle to the mix. Never dissimilar to a whole host of bands thrown out in the early post-grunge days, including Ash, Foo Fighters, Lush and Swervedriver, that 90s glance becomes more of a manic stare. Made from a host of individually excellent influences, 'Departure' comes together well as a collection of songs but ends up leaving the impression that this has all been done before. Ultimately, Spotlight Kid find themselves lodged firmly within the old confines and potholes of all that good 90s indie-rock, grappling towards a more contemporary sound that remains, agonisingly, just out of reach. [Neil Ferguson]