Operahouse
The Man Next Door

Top-quality pop songs of a catchy nature may be short in supply as we say goodbye to the first quarter of 2007, but at least some people are trying.

Camdenites Operahouse deserve to be applauded for their efforts here, as both the title track and its b-side 'Wrecking Ball' are impressively jaunty tunes that recall the mid-90s jamborees of Blur combined with the more recent penchant for mixing ska with a Kinks-ian guitar haze.

Whilst 'The Man Next Door' won't win any awards for originality, it does manage to hold one's attention span from start to finish, giving it a headstart over a good 50 per cent of the competition already.

Where Operahouse progress to with their subsequent releases will undoubtedly hold the key to their destiny. Until then, the promise is there to be unlocked rather than broken.