October 9, 2001

Xaverre, J. : Bingo Wings E.P

Off-kilter opener 'Saturday' is the real star here, the bare bones of a tune built round Pete/Johnny/J's gruff vocals in an enchanting tribute to lost youth and love.

From - let's face
it - inauspicious beginnings, comes a very fine record indeed. J
Xaverre is better known to his mother as Pete Gofton
and was previously known as Johnny X, Lauren
Laverne's brother and the one no one ever noticed in
Kenickie. Apparently, he was the only member who knew how to
tune guitars and turn the amps on. And while the girls were pouting and mouthing
off, he was quietly working away on material of his own. Finally, he's re-emerged
with this brilliantly titled EP, which contains five striking songs that recall
early Beta
Band[/url] and show Belle
& Sebastian[/url] how they could sound if they were a bit, well,
weirder.

Off-kilter opener 'Saturday' is the real star here, the
bare bones of a tune built round Pete/Johnny/J's gruff vocals in
an enchanting tribute to lost youth and love. The low-key title track is lovely
too - a charming and relatively straight acoustic number set off by the simple
whisper of female backing vocals. Shunning the trashy pop thrills of the past,
this intriguing glimpse of an unlikely talent owes some of its beauty to Mercury
Rev[/url] , some to the fact that this is a man who's glimpsed glory and realised
its hollow heart. Experience is obviously a great teacher.

Siobhan Grogan