The Open - We Can Never Say Goodbye (Universal)

The Open are from Liverpool, but they don't go in for the stoner humour of fellow Scousers The Coral or The Zutons. Their recent second album was packed with dark, intense rock of a type that Mancunian neighbours Doves or Elbow would be proud of.

We Can Never Say Goodbye was one of the highlights of Statues, so it comes as no surprise to see it released as a single. There's a pounding, urgent feel, reminiscent of Doves' Black And White Town, and the downbeat nature of the lyrics (dealing with a relationship break-up) are countered nicely by the upbeat tone of the song.

There's also some cracking guitar riffs, courtesy of Jon Winter, but they never overshadow the song itself. The Open seem to have been a bit ignored by the record buying public so far, which is a shame - if you're sick of waiting for Editors to write some new material, you could do a lot worse than this.

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