 Hut Recordings seem to specialise in signing acts with a distinctly retro flavour. Timeless if you're being generous. Gomez, Richard Ashcroft, The Music . . . all acts that are musically unchallenging, but good in their genre. God only knows what the Hut staff were smoking when they signed The 'Burn.
Let's list the crimes: The 'Burn come from Blackburn - a particularly 'grim up North' kinda place - which no doubt inspired their witty and imaginative name. They've toured with Oasis, Ian Brown and Paul Weller. Paul fuckin' Weller! The temptation is to stop writing there - that should be enough to warn you off.
However, for the masochists among you: Opening track Calling All sounds like The Levellers. No, really. The real fear only kicks in when you find out it's one of the best tracks on Sally O'Mattress.
Fight The Fire is more of the same, except a little less Celtic and a little more bland, and this trend continues throughout Sally O'Mattress with little to break up the tedium. Even standouts like For What It's Worth are difficult to listen to all the way through.
Safe, tired and uninspired pretty much sums up The 'Burn for me. There are some great bands out there who would relish even a small proportion of the attention The 'Burn are getting from both label and press, and it seems criminal that they're not getting it.
"The most likely band to be making an uproar in 2003" said The Face. If that opinion was based on the quality of Sally O'Mattress, The Face team may have been sharing what Hut were smoking. :: Rowan Shaeffer |
