THE 'A' TRAIN - BEGINNING EP
(Vantage Room Records)

The press release for this six track effort calls The ‘A’ Train ‘a London-based alt-folk-rock-psych-indie-calypso-country-soul group’, which certainly covers most bases, though scarcely lets you know what to expect. I’ll try to narrow it down slightly.

The music here is an acoustically dominated, fairly jaunty slice of indie pop, arguably with some buried country influences, and if it wasn’t for the terribly weak vocals (there’s your indie influence!) that sabotage pretty much every song.

The rockier Advantages probably works best under this handicap, with a more driving beat and soaring guitar solo, while the slow ballad Beginning struggles because of it.

With a tendency to slip into indie tweeness, this can’t be whole-heartedly recommended. But if you like indie pop, you are probably more accepting of bad singers than me, and so the hooky, bouncy pop on offer here might be more your bag than mine.

DAVID FLINT

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