New Wapping Street

It comes as a welcome surprise to find The Mitcheners have finally released their debut album. After a few extremely promising singles in years gone by (followed by a long period of deathly silence) it didn’t look like the Irish four-piece were ever going to get things off the ground. But here we go, as these purveyors of uncompromising West Coast cool, take an extended trip to all the hot and sunny parts of the US of A.

New Wapping Street opens with ‘Paranoid From The Air’ and ‘Cars’ (released as a ‘comeback’ single a few months back), a sweet melt of lazy licks and lead singer Michael McCormack’s shadowy growls. The album comes complete with the much-feted late ‘90’s singles ‘Honolulu’ and ‘Mumblebones’, and while they remain the standout tracks, the other songs make for a similarly pleasant parade of sneaky basslines, dirty production and heat-warped guitars.

The laidback vibe is halted with the arrival of the manic irritant buzz of ‘B.T.O.’ and the fierce Pixies homage ‘Mutilation’, nicely punctuated with the echoes of Black Francis’ screams.

The album finally settles into a more serene route with the gentle countrified twang of ‘Horse’ and the fleeting falsetto and casual harmonies of later tracks like ‘Pedestrian’ and ‘Soak’. Certainly a suitable soundtrack for lazing on a sunny afternoon.