On the face of it, there's much to dislike about Liverpudlian quartet The Black Velvets. Besides the fact that their name begs the question of whether they're the world's only remaining fans of dodgy Canadian songstress Alannah Myles, their own promotional spiel could do with a few lessons in humility ("The Black Velvets are just what Great Britain has been waiting for", "they just want to be the biggest band in the world", "their agent, Steve Strange thinks they are the best new live band he has seen in 10 years"). Steve Strange? Like we care what the bloke from Visage thinks...
However, having said all that, 3345 - an ode to the Scouse lounge bar and restaurant that "is a central social oasis designed for creatives" (the ability to spout pretentious nonsense seems to be catching) - isn't half bad. It's simple, punchy and like good singles of yore, three minutes long. The Black Velvets reckon they sound like "Led Zeppelin with melodies by The Beatles", but 3345 is more like Foo Fighters meets The Who with its insistent rhythm, loud, spunky guitars, melodic singing and shout-along-a-tastic chorus.
Apparently, Sanctuary, aka "the biggest rock management company in the world", have put The Black Velvets "in their top three priority acts for the world alongside Morrissey and Destiny's Child." If The Black Velvets can cut the crap and not buckle under their own inflated ambitions then we might just have the British answer to Jet on our hands.
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