Lead Balloons - Don't Let That Go To Waste / Something You Say (Friends Of Mine)
UK release date: 3 December 2007
It's a brave band that names themselves after a phrase implying 'complete flop'. Surely it's too much of a gift for those lazy music hacks out there. But Jack Dee seems to have got away with his similarly monikered sitcom, so will this Manchester band's double-A sided single avoid the fate of other low-flying lead balloons?
Not likely. In a musical landscape currently full to the brim and then some with post-britpop guitar bands, a new act is going to need something special to make them stand out. Neither of the tracks on offer here are better than run-of-the-mill.
Don't Let That Go To Waste picks up on that summery jingle jangle vibe provided by The Kooks a couple of years ago, but it doesn't stick in your head like their stuff did (whether you wanted it to or not)! Somethin' You Say trundles along at a similar pace but again doesn't really make a mark.
They have apparently become a fixture on the Manchester live scene, and you can see them going down well in a live setting, and bearing in mind this debut single is being self-released, you will them all the best. But they're going to need some stronger tunes if they want to make an impact on the record-buying public.