By all accounts, New Rhodes should be massive by now. They've been plodding away for years, playing shows up and down the country and lending support to the likes of Razorlight and Bloc Party. This is not to mention the fact that they've released two thoroughly entertaining singles to date, the last of which quietly snuck into the top 40. But still no one's heard of them.
This should set people straight. From The Beginning is the third taster to be lifted from their as-yet-untitled debut album, and represents yet another entry into their textbook of how to write a truly memorable pop number.
Four bashes of the cymbal and it's off - the next four minutes are up there with the best you'll hear this year. As usual front man James Williams' ultra distinctive, Morrissey-a-like baritone dominates the track, as he sings about getting over an old flame on a typically indelible chorus ("I wanted more than pretty little faces on my pillow"). In a world where bands like Kaiser Chiefs are milking the public's appetite for simple but unforgettable melodies, New Rhodes deserve to have their day before too long.
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