Album of the week…

There’s more to Sheffield than the Arctic Monkeys and wearisome lectures from the Rev, y’know. Proof of this can be found in the début album from Slow Club, a boy-girl two piece who over the past three years have been building a cult following both in their home town and further afield.

It is easy to see why; album opener When I Go, with it’s glorious harmonies and playful lyrics, is a statement of intent, managing like most of the album to sound both joyful and melancholy. Giving Up On Love, meanwhile, with lyrics about lost youth and lost love, sees Slow Club adapt to their studio surroundings and create a full band sound. It’s “amped up”, at least by their standards, and makes a nice change of pace on a mostly stripped back album.

This is not the say there is anything wrong with the simplistic approach; Dance ‘Til The Morning Light, featuring only a single guitar and vocal from Charles, is one of the album’s highlights. In fact, the whole album is refreshingly free of production trickery - there are no string quartets or brass bands - and the music is left to speak for itself.

The result is a bitter-sweet collection of songs which showcase the duo’s huge talent and speak of greater things to come. So get in on the action before things explode! www.myspace.com/slowclub

Out today.

8/10

Jed Howlett