New Rhodes - The Joys of Finding and Losing That Girl

Does the world need another troupe of indie kids with guitars singing about girls? Probably not. Has it got one? Only every other day. But New Rhodes deftly sidestep pre-emptive pointlessness by being surprisingly good. The Joys of Finding… is a punchy three minute pop-rock paean to youthful lust that resembles Idlewild’s softer latter-day moments, while Primrose Hill shows they can do poised balladry with equal confidence. They’re not going to upset the status quo, but in a world awash with countless nu-indie posers, writing mainstream rock without sounding drearily derivative of a 1001 predecessors is no mean feat in itself. [Chris Buckle]