The Futureheads: News And Tributes

Herald rating: * * *

Most of those jumped-up, angular sounding bands that appeared after Franz Ferdinand's success, like Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, and The Futureheads, are coming round to the moment of truth - the second album. Franz Ferdinand succeeded last year. Bloc Party have their second out soon which will be interesting. But the Futureheads (the Proclaimers of this "angular movement") didn't really stun the masses with their self-titled debut in 2004. It was catchy, but they never had songs like I Predict A Riot (Kaiser Chiefs) or Like Eating Glass (Bloc Party).

On News And Tributes the gently erupting opening segment of Yes/No is promising and perhaps a sign the Heads are trying something different. But when the repetitive "yes/no" chorus starts, with its jabbing riffs and fringe bobbing beats, it's same old, same old. Much of the album is tiresome and lacks the spunk of Franz and Bloc Party's edge. The most impressive part, and its saving grace, is the mid-section where the gentle Burnt and the title track shows the band's sentimental side, and then they launch into the circular saw anthem of The Return of the Berserker. When they're playing at these two extremes, they're inspired, but it's the in-between bits that lose it.

Label: Warner