Ono Palindromes - The Cum EP

With today's guitar clutching kids variously assimilating the sounds of Vampire Weekend, Klaxons or the Arctic Monkeys, the good ship Punk currently finds itself in the doldrums. Exeter trio Ono Palindromes hope to navigate it back into more relevant waters with their loud, bulldozing songs. With its nod-wink references to careerist fellatio ("you got milk in your mouth, you're always heading south"), Glue is their cynical calling card. But although discontent is always a good starting point, the musicianship and production is too thick and sluggish to carry the left jab the songs aim to deliver. Despite their best intentions, The Cum EP mostly sounds like a poor man's Sonic Youth - even if that's better than a poor man's Vampire Weekend. [Nick Mitchell]