It's easy to be blasé when confronted with yet another jerky, post-pop-punk band but The Needles get away with it as they're just so thrillingly good. Dianne is four minutes of ridiculously infectious guitar pop, with nods to The Strokes and The Jam, but also imbued with that all important personality of its own.
As well as a melody that will make you want to seek out the nearest indie dancefloor and throw yourself around till you get dizzy, there's also some quirky lyrics (is Jack White really mentioned in the first line?) and a bright, confident production that brings to mind their fellow Scots Franz Ferdinand. The two B-sides are equally as good, especially the gloriously exuberant Black Belt.
With an image as attention-grabbing as their music (lead singer Dave Dixon looks like a ginger Elvis Costello, while the rest of the band wear matching T-shirts with Needle #1, Needle #2 and so on), this is one set of Needles that seem destined to remain sharp for some time to come.
share with:
