Album Review by Mark Bayross
If The Yards sound familiar it may be because they are fronted by former Seahorses singer Chris Helme, a man possessed with a voice that immediately catapults you back to the mid 90s and the period between baggy and Britpop.
Consequently, the riffy psychedelia of their debut album evokes everyone from The Kinks to early Radiohead, with some Stone Roses shuffle along the way. The opening duo of FORGET YOUR REGRETS and GET OFF MY BACK are catchy enough to draw you in, while the raucous THE DEVIL IS ALIVE AND WELL AND IN DC will keep White Stripes fans happy.
The middle section does drag a little – here you will find the ballads and the trippy wig-outs – although ONLY MYSELF TO BLAME has stadium rocker written all over it, but the album ends strongly with the thumpingly good QOSTA-style desert rock of CALIFORNIA, the epic Manics / Verve collision of FIREFLIES and tender closer UP ‘TIL DAWN.
Definitely a grower with some quality song-writing, even if the “heard this somewhere before” factor is in evidence.
