The Needles - Girl I Used To Know/Dead Or Live Single Review

The Needles
Girl I Used To Know/Dead Or Live
Single Review
(Dangerous Records 02/04/07)

The 70s rock drag with a feel-good kick that draws out a contemporary Teenage Fan Club and Supergrass vibe, gives 'Girl I Used To Know' some nifty rhythm and allows Dave Dixon to tenderise his pleading vocals. This quartet from the Granite City possesses a solid base that builds from twining and roving guitars with a buoyant, stammering percussion push from John Wolfe. Making a robust jaunt to help the gyrators who like to wallow and think at the same-time.

A rustic Mando Daio edge helps The Needles exchange reflective rhythm for grit and steel (a fair exchange even by modern eBaying standards), for the other A-side 'Dead Or Live'. Wolfe's drumbeats pick up in volume and intensity, meaning that Dixon's vocals have to up in projection to pull off this rustic rack of defiance. Previously unreleased offering 'Only If You Want Me To', uses a piano flow to slow things down. This is akin to The Beach Boys after they've been injected with copious amounts of reflection, producing a hovering indie touch that will have you swaying like a tide with your mates. For all the craft and range of the double A-sides, it is this new number that hints at the longevity of The Needles. Uncovering a possible future direction from which this sincere outfit can prosper, as they prepare to follow up on their sauntering album from last year, 'In Search Of The Needles'.


Rating; 4/5