Anyone under the impression that the Norh East is only harbouring the jerky, post-punk likes of The Futureheads and Maximo Park may get something of a surprise on exposure to DEMON SUMMER.
Because, if you closed your eyes, you'd naturally assume they were from the North-West, at least if the two tracks featured on this single are anything to go by. Lead tune "Burn" was produced by ex-Mansun producer Mike Hunter, and indeed the likes of Mansun's "Wide Open Space" give you some idea of the expansive, yearning feel of Demon Summer. Admittedly, "Burn" is a little more languid, but it has a killer radio-friendly chorus (full of the usual old tosh like "the fire in you, the fire in me", but still it gets through) and while it's nothing you haven't heard in similar form by the likes of Doves in recent times, it's still a likeably guilty pleasure and winningly lush.
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B-side "No Feelings, No Pain", meanwhile, is arguably better. This one's a brooding'n'gritty affair with edgy guitar chords and towering E-bow. It also unfailingly references the currently de rigeur early '80s, but instead of the current crop of junior XTC clones instead recalls the proud and passionate likes of The Sound and the early Bunnymen. The fact it shits honey over The Departure is also a bonus and one for which we should all be tuly thankful.
So obviously it's still early days for Demon Summer, but "Burn" turns up the heat competently enough. It could well fan the flames of popularity for them, so make sure to stand well back in the near future.
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