Lupen Crook and the Murderbirds - The Lost Belongings EP

Rhetoric, image and ideals are no consolation in the absence of tunes. Reading between the lines of a press release strewn with hyperbole and outsider oratory, it's clear that this is an act, previously brushed aside by a cut-throat major label, and determined to return, fighting. Opener Lest We Connect The Crooked Family has fire in its belly, but Little Treasure is a track so weak and dull enough it could pass for a Scouting for Girls b-side. Their coupling of London estuary indie with violins and mandolins is an obvious ploy to attain an air of authenticity, but Crook's voice is too one-dimensional, too limited to deliver any tenderness when it's called for. The apparent talents of his band feel a little underwhelming beneath his dominant presence, and much of this EP flounders as a result.