The name didn't exactly thrill me or suggest to me that this was a band I absolutely had to hear. Mr Cola comes on like a grouchy, pumped-up and bitter-sounding Morrissey before veering toward a sneerier Jarvis Cocker as he leads us through a song that amalgamates elements of classic indie with Britpop and a dash of new wave, the guitars ranging from the jangling to something altogether beefier. He mightn't be the most tuneful of singers, but he can deliver a lyric - often with far too many words in a line (for example, 'When I was young, my tongue was super-glued inside my aching head / now I've become the man who just can't keep his thoughts to himself instead') - in a way that does demand attention.
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'Budget Flight to Faro' lacks the same kind of impact, is a little more wishy-washy, but still manages a dreamy wistfulness that captures the awkwardness of adolescence and the way in which moods can so rapidly turn sour as Johnny croons 'this could have been the best of days the world has ever known.'
Both tracks are definitely growers, but perhaps still more deserving of a B+ than a straight A.
http://www.jonnycolaandtheagrades.net/
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