DOWNED IN SOUND - Reviewed 26th JAN 2005 - www.drownedinsound.com
Are The New Black by My Deaf Audio
Reviewed:
26th JAN 2005 Release date: 7th February 2005
Kick out the jams, motherfucker...
It's so easy to ape your forefathers; 99 per cent of the pop chart is comprised of acts doing exactly that. But this you know - you're smart enough to see through, or rather hear through, their forms of flattery. Hopefully, though, you can tell the chalk from the cheese; who's got clout and who's nothing more than a turd that just can't be polished. Brighton's My Deaf Audio collapse, sweaty and shaken, into the former category. Just.
If their record collections extend beyond the 1970s, then they do so only to accommodate The Donnas and a gaggle of Scandinavian garage-rock outfits - every riff here has been heard before, and some time ago too. But that's not to say that MDA aren't worthy of your attention, however fleeting - 'Turn Off The World' is a stomping, hand clapping monster of a tune, and 'Get Out, Right Now' possesses as much swagger as The Pattern did when they unleashed Fragile Awareness. Indeed, MDA have more in common with such US-based acts than they do with, say, the hyperactive antics of The Hives.
One problem remains: once the sweat has dried and the feet have stalled their dancing, who really cares? Music like this has a shorter shelf life than Pop Idol winners' debut albums; let's hope that MDA find the substance necessary to fuel their journey beyond this mixed first impression
Michael Diver
Rating: 3 and a half out of 5