Do you remember the grunge-guitar scrawl and unrelenting fuzz of 80s US alt-rock bands like Sonic Youth and Guided By Voices? Manchester upstarts Mazes evidently do. Their brash, brilliant, jamgly, scuzzy Summer Hits - full title, Summer Hits Or JJ Don't Like It - is a two-minute burst of carefree, hazy indie excellence that revels in the spirit of their heroes. The titular JJ might not like it, but we at Q certainly do.
Taken from their debut album, A Thousand Heys, the song's gloriously simple three-chord assault is rich in lo-fi flippancy and nerdy charm. Front man Jack Cooper crowbars in droll quips and irreverent musings, slurring over the verses with vim, vigour and irresistible cool - at one point, he pores over his freakish height and ponders if he should have started smoking at an early age to stunt his growth. Hardly your run of the mill lyrical subject matter, but then again, Mazes are anything but typical. As Summer Hits neatly demonstrates, they are vibrant, enthralling and demand your attention.
Words: Al Horner
Mazes - Summer Hits by FatCat Records
12:17 PM | 18/05/2011
More Photos Of:
Latest Track Of The Day
-
Radioinactive - Mint Tea (featuring La Caution & 2Mex)
May we present the most addictive hip-hop sample of the year
-
Bee Gees - Massachusetts (Robin Gibb RIP)
We remember the singer who passed away on Sunday night (20 May)
-
Regina Spektor - All The Rowboats
'Anti-folk' hero continues to confuse and delight in equal measure with new album out today (21 May)
-
TNGHT - Bugg'n
Disjointed electronic madness from accomplished production team
-
The Who - I Can't Explain
We've gone into the vault to celebrate one of the Mod's birthdays...
-
The Hives - Go Right Ahead
The Swedes are back and this time they've got top hats (and a UK tour on sale today, 20 May)
Advertisement
User Comments
Post A Comment
Post A Comment