6 / 10
In a freebie music magazine dished out by one of the big chains, A Hack suggested recently that the industry should now desist from releasing records by new bands because, let's face it, The Beatles, Captain Beefheart and The Farmers Boys made such utterly brilliant albums before any of us were born.
The Montrose Avenue should be a-quaking in their booties more than most at such a judgement, as they appear to be ever willing to lay their 12-string Rickenbackers down, put their hands up and confess to a love affair with The Byrds. Not only that, but on their current single there is a shameless cover of The Flaming Groovies' 'Shake Some Action'. It is thus somewhat safe to assume that 'Thirty Days Out' - the fivesome's debut album - is unlikely to rattle Einsturzende Neubauten's cage.
In fact, this record barely rattles at all. For if Montrose Avenue is a quiet side street with sun-dappled trees and groups of handsome young men lounging around in cheesecloth shirts, then 'Thirty Days Out' represents the perfect soundtrack, being a cunning companion to labelmates Kula Shaker's retro groove, only with added tassles, tussling guitars and deliciously tousled multi-part harmonies. There's an easy swagger to the Montroses; one that sweeps from the buoyant tunesmithery of 'She's Looking For Me' and 'Shine' to the spectacularly overloaded orchestrations of 'Keep On The Road'. Not many other contemporary longplayers fly by as swiftly as this one.
Far from sluggish introspection, 'Thirty Days Out' starts with an urgent wail of sirens and bounds along to end with a haphazard live reading of 'Ohio' by - yes indeedy - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. True, history will prove that nothing on here manages to scale the heights of, ooooh, 'Lonely Boy' by Andrew Gold, but then again, as A Hack is only too aware, very little does. So that's sorted that little problem out, then.
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