The Mighty Handful
If It Ain’t Broke… LP
The English are a peculiar bunch. There doesn’t seem to be anywhere else on this planet where everyone is so nice, polite, and reserved. These character traits – the ones that ultimately mean most American’s view of the English is of the bumbling characters of Hugh Grant – also seem to afflict our bands.
Open the pages of any reputable music magazine and you will be confronted by massed ranks of leather-clad Americans, popping and fizzing with effervescence and talking about clubs and bands and drugs so exotic we haven’t even heard of them yet over here and yet the Brits are there lined up behind them dressed in Fred Perry and hiding behind their fringes – talking about Crumpets and Kate Middleton. Probably. (No? Its just me that talks about her a lot yeah? Oh ok….sorry!)
It’s a shame because the bad habits of old have trickled through the phosphorous on Planet Indie and given root to a particularly stale brand of thrum-along brit pop.
To describe the new album from The Mighty Handful as being comparable to MOR bands like The Feeling and Travis is (in some quarters certainly) damning it with the faintest of praise. And although that particular strain of guitar-based tomfoolery is of no personal interest, there is no doubt that somewhere beneath the muted guitars and subtly suggesting melodies is a band containing some decent songwriters.
The songs here are indeed polished and mainstream enough to suggest a route through to some kind of widespread recognition, but to do so the band need to really streamline what they are doing down to a crisp. Too often here the songs fall into the Shed Seven trap of having the quiet bits too loud and the loud bits too quiet…
Some work on the arrangement and the addition of a couple of certified hooks may see the act develop into a more label-worthy possibility. But for now, fair play to the guys – there are some decent enough tunes here and a level of musicianship that would suggest a good live proposition.
A promising start but let’s hope they take a few lessons from their American friends – stop hiding behind the fringes and start selling yourselves!!!
Guest article from Ben M.
Written by Guest Writers on
