Tribes: Wish To Scream

It seems that whenever a guitar-driven rock band make waves in the UK, the first thing atop the to-do list, for critics and fans alike, is to laud them as the next Arctic Monkeys, the next Oasis or simply 'the next big thing'. Indie-rockers Tribes assumed this role early last year, by way of a brash but cool collective, doused in Brit-pop overdrive and 'Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One' tendencies, minus the satire. In the 11-track 'Baby', the Camden quartet could not have hoped for a finer full-length debut and despite having been recorded over 5,000 miles away from where its predecessor was produced in the Motor Museum in Liverpool, the band's second album 'Wish to Scream' kicks off very much in the same vein.

"Roll it", says vocalist Johnny Lloyd before the ever-accessible G-chord ushers in the album-opener 'Dancehall', which is a glorious introduction to the band's second album, albeit a well-refined clash of 'Corner of an English Field' and 'We Were Children'. From the articulate piano/guitar interplay to the anthemic refrain, 'Dancehall' steers 'Wish to Scream' into the fast-lane with the sun-roof well and truly down. The organ-enthused 'How the Other Half Live' soon follows as Tribes go all Screamadelica with a funky, uplifting commentary of life in Tinsletown, complete with gospel crescendos. However, an overindulgence of choir-filled backing as ballads like 'Looking for Shangri-La' and 'Englishman on Sunset Boulevard' turn into hymns, lacking the intended inspiration.

Ingenuity wanes for the Camden four-piece. Aside from the soulful, sax-soaked 'Street Dancin'' and 'World of Wonder', which revels in its own simplicity, a regurgitation of ideas brings 'Wish to Scream' to a halt in the middle of the road, suggesting that Tribes should have held off returning to the studio so soon or at least cut this 16-track effort back a bit.

Key Track: 'Street Dancin'