Draw Me Stories -‘Cocoon Machina’ (Glasstone Records)

At this point in history, record that come under the banner of ‘indie debuts’ far too frequently seem to be a rehash of ideas that many of us in our mid-thirties have heard too many times before being served up as the next big thing.

It is a delight, therefore, to be able to report that the debut from the Anglo-French band Tell Me Stories seems to have very few precedents. Whilst the stories of the DFA’s James Murphy yelling at bands ‘I’ve got that record too!’ are probably apocryphal, I think it would be too much of a challenge for anyone to do that with this record And if they did, they’re losing out on the joy of this.

I’ve listened to this record nowseveral times now, and even on the opener ‘Birdsong’ I’m still struck by how percussive the record is without coming under the heading of ‘dance’. The single ‘Animals’ reminds us that once in a while ‘gothic’ is not the same as ‘goth rock’- and it’s an intriguing confection.

So, this may not be getting disected and fawned over/ripped to shreds in certain quarters. That’s other people’s loss -don’t let it be yours.

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Cocoon Machina is out now on Glasstone Records