Monsoon

In these days when seemingly any bunch of young independent types with guitars can rocket to global stardom, there’s something fairly reassuring about Preston School Of Industry. The work of one-time Pavement member Spiral Stairs (aka Scott Kannberg), PSOI sound exactly like you might suppose. Slightly ramshackle in approach, especially compared to the current streamlined version of alternative rock, they hark back to the glory days of Buffalo Tom, early Lemonheads and – probably unavoidably – Pavement themselves. Yet the band have their own, extra dimensions to mark them out from the lo-fi US crowd. Monsoon is shot through with an almost country feel, from the tangible (slide guitars) to the simple but highly emotive feel of the songs. The titles might scream underground (‘If The Straits Of Magellan Should Ever Run Dry’, ‘Escalation Breeds Escalation’, ‘Get Your Crayons Out!’) but the melodies are sunny and infectious, even if Kannberg’s drawl is something of an acquired taste. And while there is nothing here that others haven’t taken to more mainstream success, albeit in a slightly more polished form, you can’t escape the feeling that Monsoon will yet again reach the required number of people, to whom it will become something to treasure. The wider world’s loss is most definitely our gain.