Their lead singer rejoices in the name of Oisin Leech. They are mates with the Arctic Monkeys, but there's nothing raw about their sound. Numerous musical traditions, from light opera to jazz, meet and crash among the four members from four different countries.
Their previous releases are eclectic in the extremis - feel good R'n'B like a more subtle, early Supergrass (and therefore, obviously, like the Stones), an acoustic guitar ballad, 70s Italian jazz fusion that develops into a soothing rock guitar reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac, horn-driven soul and sunshine reggae.
The new single, Death Of A Star, a taster from their new album Zampano, shows them going off at yet another tangent. The opening bars are pure Space Oddity, acoustic guitar and big spacy chords, rising to a joyful crescendo for the chorus. The very short radio edit (there are only so many times you can hear someone sing "I swear I saw the death of a star, from afar") wisely omits the album versions's flamenco stylings. The big question is have they really found their own sound yet or are they just borrowing wildly? One thing I do know, they are going to be a joy to watch develop.
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