Econoline have been compared to Dinosaur Junior and have that lo-fi American feel of Pavement, but strangely enough hail from London. Signed exclusively to Seriously Groovy "Music Is Stupid" follows Econoline's previous two well received singles.

The intro to "The C And The G" is so long that on first listen I foolishly assumed that this was an instrumental in the style of Scottish noise terrorist Mogwai. Then the expressive but technically weak vocals of Ian Scanlon come in with them being notably low in the mix. The production has an amateurish feel which suits the raw intensity of the music. On "I'm Plagued" Piers Chandlers guitar playing is very close to the technique David Gedge made his own in the Wedding Present and the album is rooted very deeply in the late 1980s alternative music scene. The harmonies between John Scanlon and Gabriella Zappia slows down the pace on "Missing From Pictures". Starting very slowly then building up the momentum thanks in some small way to the steady workman like drumming from Tom Emmerting.

The other tracks are pretty much in a similar fashion and with ten tracks can become just a little bit limiting, but the use of a clarinet, saxophone and organ add a bit of much needed variety amongst all the clatter and chaos surrounding them. You can't deny that Econoline will find an audience in that defeatist indie kind of way and they do have genuine moments of magic on this debut album. If you take "Music Is Stupid" as sign of things to come on album number 2 then it has the potential to make a very satisfying and highly anticipated album.

Nicholas Paul Godkin