(Mother/Island)
Yes, another British guitar/bass/drums quartet - hardly an endangered species these days. Sheffield's Longpigs have actually been around three years, but only escaped various record company problems to release their debut a year or so ago, now finally up for a Stateside release.
It's worth the wait. The Sun Is Often Out is a fine debut, mixing jangly guitar hooks and a slightly deeper atmosphere than most of Longpigs' peers with an energetic, distinctive vocal style that frequently launches into falsetto.
Slightly over to the rock end of the spectrum, Longpigs display enough style and originality to distinguish themselves from the pack, from the Radiohead-flavoured pop of "She Said" to the opener "Lost Myself", which starts out deceptively slowly, before exploding into a power-chord driven chorus. "Far", a recent single, is 3-minute pop at its finest, a rhythmic, chantlike verse giving way to the catchiest of choruses. "On and On" is a gorgeous mid-tempo ballad, unspoiled even by singer Crispin Hunt's occasional tendency to sound uncomfortably like one of the Proclaimers. The powerful "Jesus Christ" is also excellent. "Jesus Christ / I'm on fire when you smile" wails Hunt in a voice that suggests he's actually burning at the stake.
Three years into the British indie rebirth, then, and bands like Longpigs are showing that there's still talent waiting to surface. Success in the UK could well carry over to the States with a little airplay - Longpigs, like Kula Shaker, have more of an 'international' accent than Blur, Pulp, et. al, and (Oasis excepted) this seems to be translating to more success in the States than the more obviously 'English' sound of yer Casts and Bluetones. The Sun Is Often Out is never astonishing, but it's a fine record, the best parts of which suggest real potential for greatness. Not quite Premier League then, but solid First Division stuff.
