The Futureheads - Skip to the End

This first offering from the Futureheads' highly-anticipated second album is a bit of a mixed affair. It's unmistakably the Futureheads and is thus a safe first single to please current followers whilst not pulling in those who weren't convinced by their first long-player. The minimalist verse, dominated by the 'heads trademark northern slur, is nothing special, it's the rousing and harmonious chorus which most pleases the ear. Proving that their surprisingly adept vocal attributes on 2005's Hounds of Love were no fluke, the four-piece combine en masse again to rescue this number from the clasps of mediocrity. Skip to the chorus. [Jon Seller]