Viva Brother

Famous First Words Geffen ***

Famous First Words Geffen ***

What's in a name? The band recently known as Brother may have been forced to modify their monicker, but it hasn't altered their swagger. The general public have been led to believe that the Slough quartet are evil knuckle-dragging types, intent on hauling music back to the laddish guitar rock era of the 1990s. The reality? This collection of melodic, singalong indie-rock tunes certainly doesn't take any risks, but it's also far more likeable than similar acts The View and The Courteeners (all produced, incidentally, by Stephen Street). Yes, it bows to Blur ( David)and there's more than a passing resemblance between Leonard Newell and Liam Gallagher's drawl. But while these anthemic, beefy rock songs don't quite inspire instant adulation, they're far from horrible enough to hate. See acidlove.net

Download tracks: David, Fly by Nights

Lauren Murphy

Lauren Murphy

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