Although Mercury is only the band’s debut album, this record nonetheless carries a gravity that belies the band’s tender years and is not a million miles away from the thoughtful, emotion heavy rock that has proved so bankable of late. They appear to do it well too, throwing everything they have at the opening salvo of ‘Further’, ‘Can’t Explain’ and ‘Electricity’, all three bearing echoes of Doves, Coldplay, Embrace and the rest of the school of ambitious indie rock.

The problem with Mercury is that doesn’t really ever go any further than that. It may not be their fault, but Longview are part of the generation who experienced their own personal epiphany with the release of ‘The Bends’ and, for all its string swept ambitions, Mercury is an ultimately two dimensional experience. The good news, though, is that if Longview can be as convincing as this while treading in the footsteps of others, by the time they find their own path they could be something very special.

five/ten