The Twang – ‘Neontwang’

The Birmingham band make an unnecessary return

In 1998, filmmaker Gus Van Sant’s near shot-for-shot remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’ was panned for being wholly unnecessary. The world didn’t need a remake of ‘Psycho’. Likewise, the world has somehow managed to keep spinning on its axis without The Twang since 2012’s ’10:20’. Why, then, do we now have ‘NEONTWANG’, trundling about aimlessly like a doddery tortoise who can’t remember if it even wants another bit of lettuce but is ambling on regardless? The spritely chugging of ‘City Lights’ recalls an uninspired Supergrass, while the bluster-heavy ‘Happy Families’ bravely tackles the desperate ills of prostitution with the thought-provoking observation: “She’s on the game/Such a shame”. And while ‘Happy Families’’ snappy sludge hints at a slight reprieve, the jingle-jangle whimsy of ‘Larry Lizard’ is a tired reminder that there’s only one crime worse than being outright bad – and that’s being as mind-numbingly banal as this.

Ben Hewitt

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