The Futureheads -‘The Chaos’ (Nul)

The last decade seemed to throw up so many bands who promised much with their first album, great live shows…yet by the decade seemed to have not quite amounted to what we had hoped.

The Futureheads did produce good, solid third albums, it’s just that the the second didn’t sell as well as their phenomenal first, so the third was them on their own again…so how come the Futureheads have delivered what is quite possiboy the best album by a British band so far this year?

Right from the opening bars of The Chaos, the Futureheads are clearly firing on all cylinders…and they keep it up to the very last second. I’ve played this album no less than three times today, and there’s no guarantee that I won’t do so again. there’s so many highlights here ‘Heartbeat Song’, ‘Sun Goes Down’ and the title track, that it seems hard to really pick standout tracks when they all stand so high.

Sure, it still sounds like the Futureheads -but that’s gotta be a good thing, right? Cos, quite frankly, this album is as addictive as a cheese and onion pasty from Greggs and with far less calories. I may be well into my thirties, but this album makes me want to pogo around the room, to tell complete strangers how good it is (to the girl who served me in Sainsbury’s earlier on when I had this on my headphones: sorry I didn’t give you my full attention).

The Futureheads indicated that they had much promise when I first heard them back in 2003 -and they are still more than just delivering the goods.

****1/2

The Chaos is released on April 26 on Nul Recordings.

The Futureheads -‘Struck Dumb.’ mp3