It's certainly unusual for a band to make their debut single a charity effort, but London quartet Swing Youth have done just that, with 50% of the sales of 'Myself to Blame' going to the Royal British Legion.
If I was being ultra-cynical - and it's something I'm given to, I have to admit - I might say that it's a cynical tactic on the band's part to shift units and raise the profile of a band that might otherwise struggle to get much attention or sell many CDs or downloads.
As I sit and type up this review, I'm torn. On first hearing 'Myself to Blame' and flipside 'Blade of Grass,' I wasn't impressed. However, I note that since its release the single's been picked up by both Tom Robinson and Steve Lamacq, and that the limited edition CD has sold out. Other reviewers have raved about the single, and likened Swing Youth to The Cure, Split Enz and an upbeat Joy Division. It must have something going for it.
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The trouble is, I just don't see - or hear - it myself. More to the point, I hear it, but find myself largely unimpressed. In the same way as I hear derivative Cure-pop stylings in 'Shake It' by the Metro Station, 'Myself to Blame' and 'Blade of Grass' are both poppy in a Cure-esque way and catchy as you like, but rather inconsequential and unsatisfying.
Still, mustn't be too churlish: it is for charidee after all.
http://www.myspace.com/weareswingyouth
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