The Hot Sprockets: Brother Nature

Rock'n'roll is dead? The Hot Sprockets beg to differ – the Dublin quintet's second album remains brazenly in thrall to the louche hip-swaggering bombast of Sticky Fingers-era Rolling Stones. Boogie Woogie could be a Them B-side, although Quarter Roam and Show Me the Weight tip the Kings of Leon-esque, contemporary end of the scale, a factor exaggerated by Wayne Soper's hoarse, twangy drawl. A balance is struck between rambunctious blues-rock (Heavy On, Soul Brother) and laidback melodies (Homeslice). On the downside, the uneven tracklisting isn't conducive to sustaining momentum, and the Sprockets' tendency to slip into cliché is compounded by the likes of the dull Lay Me Down. Still, while their schtick is neither innovative or original, it does maintains a certain charm. thehotsprockets.com

Download: Soul Brother, Shake Me Off