You Are My Friend

How to describe The Gandhis? Try quirky power pop with a particularly wry sense of humour.
For the most part the Lucan four-piece deal in the kind of joyous, unselfconscious pop-rock that labelmates The Pale have done so successfully for years. Choppy rhythms, jerky time-signatures and manic vocals are all present and correct on irresistibly toe-tapping cuts like ‘Don’t You Want To Be Loved By Me’, ‘Motown Lowdown’ and the memorable title-track.
Two-tone ska is clearly the inspiration for ‘The Rudy Show’, while ‘Elephant Man’ comes across like the Clash’s ‘Guns Of Brixton’ on steroids. The nostalgic innocence of ‘Primrose Hill’ boasts impressive harmonies and a well-turned out melody to boot, recalling Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers at their best.
All that madcap zaniness can be a tad exhausting when taken all at once, but in medium-sized doses The Gandhis could be just the tonic for the times.