THE BUZZRATS- Wondering Where You Are (Private Pressing)
Another misleadingly named band - I was expecting a cross between the Buzzcocks and Hull's The Rats - sharp-edged pop with an attitude. What we have is country-rock with punk/folk overtones (that's their own description). Although the band is a six-piece the songs are in no way overblown or anthemic - rather they underplay everything on here to produce a sort of alt.AOR. The gentle production suits the songs down to the ground, and so it is even more noticeable when a track like 'Cool Papa Bell' actually picks up the pace a bit. The title track is one of the stand-out tracks on here, with songwriter Steve Leggett's deadpan delivery and the band's delicate backing coming together for a powerful song. 'Mingus On The Bandstand' is the most unusual track on here, with the title obviously influencing the way that the jazzy inflections are added to the music. A couple of tracks do not sit easily within the scope of the album, with 'Mongoose' being a reggae-tinged singalong, and 'Greaser' being an uptempo rocker with squalling guitar, but then down and dirty is how I like my music, so for me this is the best track. Quite a hard album to pigeonhole - part hard rock ('Greaser'), part space-rock (the end of 'Fireproof Box'), part Americana (most of the rest), with a bit of folk and a bit of jazz - but if alt.country turns you on then you could do worse that give The Buzzrats a go.