US critics thrilled with The Thrills

It looks like The Thrills will be spending most of 2004 living out of a suitcase, with our American media colleagues going completely hatstand for their So Much For The City album.

"One of the hardest things in pop music is coming up with uplifting songs that are poignant, not just cheerful and this Dublin quintet's ability to do it so consistently makes this one of the most enchanting rock debuts in the years," is the verdict of influential LA Times scribe Robert Hillburn.

Those sentiments are echoed by the New York Times ("The first six songs are so stellar it's hard to keep from backing up the album over and over again"); Entertainment Weekly ("The Beach Boys-meets-Neil Young-style outfit might just be the best Irish import since Guinness"); and Filter ("You are a mean-spirited, coldhearted bastard if you don't fall in love with The Thrills").

Those read lead like insults, though, compared to the testimony of one Rita Houston, a DJ with WFUV Radio New York.

"The first time I heard The Thrills I knew this was the arrival of a great new rock 'n' roll band," she gushes. "Songs that rock with hooks galore and harmonies that soar! It's cool that it took a bunch of guys from Ireland to be the next great American band!"

Add in last week's Late Night With Conan O'Brien appearance – they played 'One Horse Town' – and they won't just be aping The Eagles, they'll be living next to 'em!