Palma Violets

180, Rough Trade ***

180, Rough Trade ***

Any modern British band with duelling frontmen and a penchant for ragged indie riffs will draw comparisons to The Libertines. Regardless of your feelings about Pete Doherty, there's no denying that he could knock out a decent tune – a factor sorely lacking on Palma Violets' debut. There's nothing wrong with 180 per se, but the crackly production on these 10 tracks only emphasises the quartet's fixation on days of yore, whether it's their bedraggled Who-aping, organ-led psychedelia on Johnny Bagga' Donuts, The Clash (everything) or indeed, the cheeky-chappy swagger of The Libertines (All the Garden Birds). Most pointedly, there's scant opportunity to get excited about most of these tracks. Only time will tell whether the quartet's knack for a begrudging toe-tapper will blossom into something better than just average. palmaviolets. co.uk

Download: Johnny Bagga' Donuts, Tom the Drum

Lauren Murphy

Lauren Murphy

Lauren Murphy is a freelance journalist and broadcaster. She writes about music and the arts for The Irish Times