They're a weird band, Little Man Tate. When they first appeared, in the slipstream of fellow Sheffielders Arctic Monkeys, they seemed on the verge of stardom based on the witty, energetic demo versions available on their website and MySpace page. Then they signed to V2 and it all seems to have gone horribly wrong.
The last single, What? What You Got, appeared to sink without trace, and House Party At Boothy's is similarly uninspired. It just sounds laboured and cliched - lyrics about getting drunk at a house party, playing on a Playstation and giving girls your mobile number are set to a lumpen, dull tune that the band themselves seem bored singing. The energy displayed in the band's near legendary live shows seems to be nowhere in evidence.
The frustrating thing is that they can do so much better than this. Anybody who's heard Sexy In Latin or Court Report know that Little Man Tate have a few classic songs in them already - let's hope they see the light of day soon as it would be a real shame if all their undoubted charisma and talent were to spat out by the corporate machine.
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