St. Jude

by

The Courteeners

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The Courteeners are a four man band from Manchester in the UK, and "St. Jude" is their debut CD. I'd heard a lot about them in magazines (mainly from their very cocky lead singer) going on about how great this CD was so I was eager to hear it.

Sonically, they remind me a bit of The Coral, or even The Smiths, especially on bouncy numbers like "No you didn't, no you don't", or the brilliant "If it wasn't for me" (fantastic riff and semi-shouted lyrics).

They have a retro sound which comes out especially on the beautiful ballads "Please don't" (lovely chiming melodic guitars, it sounds a bit like those doo wop songs from "Grease"), and the more melancholic "How come".

Other standouts are the brief frenetic rocker "Kings of the new road", "Not nineteen forever", the pensive acoustic ballad "Yesterday, today, and probably tomorrow". My absolute favourite song though is "Fallowfield hillbilly" with a jagged guitar riff, nice harmonies and stomping beats, and very pronounced British accents.

The bonus CD comprises demos, acoustic versions, as well as the amusing "An ex is an ex for a reason" (an acoustic ballad with quite witty lyrics) and the sunny "Kimberley" with very nice guitar work (both of which are not on the original CD).

The album cover features an arty shot of Audrey Hepburn, by the way. So do they live up to all the hype? A few jagged moments and ok songs aside, I think they almost do.