Music

From Shrewsbury, via Leeds, The Sunshine Underground are yet another band who take their cue from post-punkers like Public Image Limited and Joy Division. However, the likes of The Rapture (see review left) have been mining this seam for a few years, and a band needs to bring something to the party that’s definitively their own. The Sunshine Underground haven’t quite managed it and an impressive array of effects pedals can’t quite disguise this.What they’ve assembled instead feels like a collection of sounds and grooves in search of some truly memorable songs.

Take-off occasionally beckons, particularly during the closing ‘Raise The Alarm’, which hints at a propulsive ‘I Am The Resurrection’-style climax but eventually peters out slightly. Generally though, things feel slightly one-paced and lacking in light and shade. The exception is ‘Somebody’s Always Getting In The Way’, where a touchingly forlorn lyric, intriguing stop/start dynamics and a plangent, descending melody hint at what they might be capable of, given time to develop. But time might be one thing they don’t have. In fact, the clock is ticking already.