The Retrospectives - Turn Me Up
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| The Retrospectives - Turn Me Up |
A group of lads from Sheffield
doing melodic, guitar driven indie with a slick sound and boyish good looks.
Remind you of anyone? Well banish that thought because Arctic Monkeys copyists
the Retrospectives are not. This EP from the quartet is full of bouncy, poppy
tracks which have been inspired by the guitar pop of the 60s and 70s but have
the feel of some of the guitar bands that I grew up hearing wafting out of my
sister's bedroom - I'm talking Del Amitri, Prefab Sprout and Orange Juice.
Kicking off with 'Take It Back', there is a hint of what McFly would be like if
they could shake their major label shackles (and that's not an insult, there's
a place for guitar playing pop bands in my world) but there is also that
essence of what made bands like the Kooks and the Fratellis so appealing for a
short period at least. 'No Affection' is a mash up between Buddy Holly and Jake
Bugg, all choppy guitars and clipped vocals delivering another upbeat indie-pop
tune. Taking a slightly moodier turn, 'Work It Out' is perhaps the weakest of
the four tracks but the clean sounding guitars and expertly crafted pop
melodies are a refreshing change from a lot of what is coming at my ears these
days. Final track '52 Records' is a self-reflective acoustic number baring the
soul of frontman Tom Galton over plucked guitars and atmospheric piano bass
notes. I'm pretty impressed by this EP in general and hugely encouraged that
there are bands out there that haven't forgotten that pop is not a dirty word.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/TheRetrospectives?fref=ts
Live Dates:
10th October - Stealth, Nottingham
11th October - O2 Academy 3, Manchester
13th October - O2 Academy 2, Islington
15th October - Exchange, Bristol
16th October - O2 Academy 3, Birmingham
18th October - Corporation, Sheffield
7th November - The Dome, Doncaster w/The Boomtown Rats
11th November - Greystones, Sheffield w/The Paper Aeroplanes