Beat The Radar – 18,19,20,21,22

When a lot of indie bands seem to be going out of their way to add as many irritating sound effects their songs in the interests of being ‘individual’ or even worse ‘experimenal’ it’s nice to hear a band who understand the importance of injecting a bit of pop into the formula, and Beat The Radar do just that.

That may well have spoiled the outcome of this review, but ‘18,19…’’s melodies and uptempo rhythms are just so immediate that it’s unavoidable. Far from shoe-gazing introspection or Morrissey-esque slit-your-wrists gloom, this track is perfect dancefloor fodder, designed for good times and lousy dancing.

Singer Jonny actually manages to inject some excitement into his Manc-accented voice, which is impressive in itself, while the rest of the band don’t just hold things together but each contribute something to make this a standout track. From the simple but effective drumming to the anthemic guitars, it all just…works.

As much as I hate to say it (at the risk of losing my reputation as a bitter person who reviews music just to insult it and hopefully crush the lives of musicians with my cruel words) I not only really like ‘18,19…’ but I’m willing to say that other people should like it too, and woe betide them if they don’t.