UK States
Well Done You’re Number One
(Dilly Dally)

I put this record on expecting garage, except it never came and instead we got rather sweet alt.folk that’s comforting more than anything else (especially when you’re dog tired). ‘Well Done You’re Number One’ is a bit of a misleading title as it has nothing to do with music success but about not able to stay in a relationship, ‘breaking up for you is like coming home’. Everything about it is melancholy in some way, sort of the British version of Ryan Adams or, even, some Soulwax.

‘Pump the Gas’ is almost as weird but a bit gentler, and more like Radiohead. For once, a band not afraid of the fact that their vocals are British and not American; it’s so refreshing. There’s a dual vocal harmony with a falsetto complementing the main vocals (what is it with bands and falsettos right now?), and, with the tune, it sounds heartbreaking. Last track, ‘Southern Star, is definitely the most upbeat of all three tracks, there’s a very C+W feel to it and only the vocals remind you that the song isn’t by an American act. As far as singles go, ‘Well Done You’re Number One’ is a nice enough single but, whether it’s quirky and different enough to rise above the rest of the similar bands, it’s hard to know.

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Natasha Perry