Completely avoiding the sophomore slump, British post-punk rockers The Futureheads once again find their inspiration in an amalgamation of seventies British post-punk and early New Wave on News and Tributes.
By HARRY RUBENSTEINfuturehead 88 298(photo credit: )THE FUTUREHEADS
News and Tributes
(Hed Arzi)
Completely avoiding the sophomore slump, British post-punk rockers The Futureheads once again find their inspiration in an amalgamation of seventies British post-punk and early New Wave on News and Tributes. Not quite as rambunctious as their eponymous debut album, a bit less energetic and substantially more mid-tempo, The Futureheads might have lost some of their urgency, but manage to maintain their melodic, poppy, harmonious sound.
On lead track, "Yes/No," the group garners their inner Gang of Four while they find influences in California pop a la the Beach Boys on Thursday. It's not all quiet all the time, however. The band lets it rip on "Return of the Berserker," a noise rock number with the vocals lost in the mix and a solid three minutes of thrashing guitar. The melody and four part harmonies return on "Back to the Sea," and on the outstanding and brooding yet jerky "Worry about it Later" - which is a nice preface to the jangly and erratic "Favours for Favours".
Mostly known for their lively reinvention of Kate Bush's "Hounds of Love," on News and Tributes, The Futureheads show that there is a lot more to them than just inventive covers.
