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6 out of 10
I'm sorry, London. You don't know any different, but there's a feeling us provincial bumpkins have when we visit the Big Smoke. It stems from everyone walking so quickly they appear to resent having legs and would rather a set of Chelsea Tractor tyres instead. I call it 'London legs' - any dawdlers may be trampled underfoot - and it's the feeling I got from listening to the debut album by Brixton's The Thirst. I'm not about to give them a pompous slag-off, though. Far from it. No, the band obviously have more energy than your average hyperactive five year-old, can craft must-listen tunes the way JK Rowling writes must-turn pages and are obviously tighter than the proverbial gnat's chuff. Great things are in the offing - but we may have to wait an album or two.
Despite their professed inspiration being the Specials and the Jam, it is the Arctic Monkeys who have their paws over much of this album. This may be the fault of producer Jim Abbiss, who twiddled the desk for Alex Turner and co's early hits. After the subtle stormer of opener "They Don't Know", the band bound off into three tracks which the 'Monkeys could have written but discarded as being 'a bit mad'. Social commentary is all but buried in the careering energy - on stage is where this band belongs, it seems.
Thankfully the shivery Sheffield primate influence is shaken off by the mid-point, with "I'm Falling" breezing in on some dreamy acoustic guitar and strings. There are shades of a "Purple Haze" as shouty axeman Mensah Cofie-Agyeman begins to show some of his excellent vocal range and the production takes on a decidedly ELO glow. This persists into stand-out track "Acre Lane" - 'all the places we go, we learn to be the same'. By the time we get into "Watch Me Now", we really are asking 'who the fuck are the Arctic Monkeys?' Powerful Ska riffs and a party-friendly na-na-na chorus bring the joys. "I Believe" almost spoils things, as it falls over itself in a frenetic drive to ram the Jam with even more High-Green-via-Brixton hurry and a manic, pleading chorus. But it's still an ear-grabber.
"All Mine", thankfully, has no 'Monkeys business and snaps us into some perfect rocked-out Ska. The spot-on guitar during the break-down makes me suspect that this one's a mosh-monster live. The title track is a scary counterpoint to the celebratory "Acre Lane", as suddenly Bloc Party appears to be extolling the virtues of guzzling a certain Belgian lager on the back seat of a bus. The line 'have a drink to elevate your mind' comes across with quite bitter irony, not to mention the bits about voices in the head. Thankfully, "Don't Waste Your Time" closes proceedings in a manner uncles Marley and Page would be proud of - what with its Wailers' bass line and tumbling Zep guitar solo. The Thirst's energy is infectious and this album shows signs of pure gold being formed from urban lead. They're still stirring things a bit too quickly, though. But let us give them time.
Listen: www.myspace.com/thethirstrockband
Tracklist:
1. They Don't Know
2. Ready to Move
3. Sail Away
4. My Everything
5. I'm Falling
6. Acre Lane
7. Watch Me Now
8. I Believe
9. All Mine
10. On The Brink
11. Don't Waste Your Time
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