Despite the immediacy of the songs on this album, it took me a few listens for them all to sink in - probably because I spend most of my time listening to music which is very different from the glossy chart-oriented pop of Chemistry (and so have conditioned myself to respond more immediately to music which is, 'objectively', less immediate, maybe?). Anyway, once I'd got my ear in, I enjoyed this album heaps - there's nothing on it to touch the sheer hyper genius of "Biology", but it's solid throughout and there are details to savour everywhere. All up, it comes across as of-the-moment without being gimmicky or too obtrusively 'up to date', and the backwards-looking moments (the Pretenders influence is made explicit with the final track, a faithful cover of "I'll Stand By You") are well-weighted. (Incidentally, speaking of 'influence', I do have a vague sense of the provenance of the group - oh no, manufactured! - but it doesn't seem to have affected my response to the music...)
I don't know if they even play live, but if they do, and if they ever come to Australia, I really think that I would go and see them, and with every expectation of having a great time.
