Of course the trouble with (whisper it) ‘scenes’ created by the media is that they will inevitably die away as soon as the spotlight is shone in a different corner of the country and thus it’s the order of things that Leeds will receive less feverish attention this year. It’s already happening, actually, as the NME’S already begun dating its’ new fifteen-minute mistress in (wait for it) ‘Thamesrock’. God only knows what the likes of its’ supposed ‘prime movers’ The Mystery Jets and Larrikin Love make of it, but that’s another story.
The vague point of all this rambling is that Leeds will survive and thrive every bit as happily away from the glare now that the slavering A&R men and chequebooks (or whatever it is that gets thrust under bands’ collective noses these days) have begun to recede for a while. Indeed, in the case of labels like Dance To The Radio, surely doing it their own sweet way was always the intention anyway?
Certainly was/is, if FORWARD, RUSSIA!’s new single “Twelve” has anything to do with it. Indeed, while Whiskas and co still seem to harbour an aversion to, er, ‘proper’ song titles, it doesn’t prevent them from casually knocking out spiky tunes par excellence, and where “Twelve” is concerned, it’s trebly, tentative guitars a go-go, handclaps lurking deep in the gravy-thick plot and a great chorus (“Give me a call so I can give you a reason to stay: your conscience is low!”) which is a guaranteed pick-you-up however you approach it.
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This being a value-for-money DTTR release, B-side “Four” (you seeing a pattern emerge here?) is another goodie: yelpy, spiky, verging-on-psychosis loony bin pop with angular riffs and discoid drums set on stun and a tendency to recall an earlier brigade of awkward weirdos (think Josef K, Big Flame, Delta 5) rather than the usual contemporary staples such as Editors and The Rakes. Fine and dandy by me.
Cool, coruscating and quizzical: Forward, Russia! will be marching on greater glories of their own design during 2006.
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