Jealous of Girls : Strawberry Kisses

Manchester songwriter Matthew Lewis is the antidote to that city’s angrier side, albeit for all the songs other than the opener to his debut album which lampoons the modern gig attendee as ‘bastards’ for talking over acoustic guitarists. Whomever they might be...

It would be untrue to describe the rest of the album as free from such resentment though the mood is noticeably lighter once that particular spleen is vented. “Strawberry Kisses” is robust, direct, a stripped down collection that hints at his indie and alt.rock roots whilst merrily wandering down paths largely of his own furrowing.

The very best moments here are Lewis at his most fragile, “Batter Up” and “She” being clear examples, “Sunny Side Up” deliciously implicit in its barbed romance as it attentive upon pop melodies.

Although largely free-flowing, when the brakes are applied it’s straight into the wall; the attempts at solemnity struggle to convince, consequence of an almost complete absence of other instruments. Given these limitations, the standard is exceptionally high; there’s no flippant diary-writing angst and influences remain bedded down rather than fully grown.

There is an engrossing quality here, one which should quieten the target for abuse in the first song; if it all goes well, he may not have to play it anymore.


Matthew Lewis ("Jealous of Girls") can be found at MySpace and Twitter

"Strawberry Kisses" is out now at jealousofgirls.co.uk

Make Me King - "The Whisper is the Hint"

Make Me King are a five-piece pop-punk types from Lancashire, whose take on the ubiquitous genre is particularly sharp. Long since a style given up for dead – oh lovely, another hand-clapped chorus – this fresh take should pique the most cynical of interests. It’s the theory of sour milk – everyone loves milk, tea drinkers or not, it’s the threat of the contents being sour which leads us all to give the bottle its surreptitious sniff, however involuntary. These lads are not the bad stuff, they’re fresh from the fridge refreshing.

And so before I hijack any more Rafa Benitez quotes on milk....


....I’ll start with “If You Can’t Be Good, Don’t Get Caught”, zipping and tip-toeing through an interchange between pointed ska and pop-punk, and throughout a variety much more surprising and mature than you’d first expect. The interplay and production quirks sprinkle through “Every Truth or Dare” (with its hint of blues in the vocal melody) and the stripped “Wake The World”.

There is particularly dangerous territory in these parts, because all groups have to do is time-signature-switch once too often and they’re trapped in Lost Prophets Hell; but follow the melody fairies down the lane with too many skips in the step and there’s the Fightstar comparisons hanging off every branch like torn sheep’s wool. Fair play to Make Me King for knowing how much of each influence to hat-tip whilst strutting along with their own confidence. It’s unfortunate that the title track is the weakest here, though with so many reasons to be cheerful it’s likely whispers will become shouts before long.


Make Me King's "The Whisper is the Hint" is available on Riot Pop Records

http://www.myspace.com/makemekinguk
http://www.twitter.com/mmkbaby