Is it already wrong to display an obvious debt to the depressive overtones of Joy Division and their latter-day spawned ilk? If not, then hats off to Cherubs, who've successfully conjoined the rampantly jagged pop guitars of Interpol's more immediate numbers with Curtis-hued vocals bleak enough to cast body-clearing shadows over Miami Beach at the height of summer.
What they've got to say flies by - something about some man that's not got much to say, or something - but that's simply because of the unrelenting sound of now that refuses to let up for a perfect three-and-a-half minutes. It's absolutely radio-friendly fodder for 2005; quite what 2006 will make of Cherubs though is an entirely different matter. Perhaps the b-side, the scuzzy and shouty romp 'Hey Bunny' - as much Billy Idol as it is Bloc Party - is an indication of the band's real intentions? For now though, for the summer of '05, the trilby is doffed.
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6Mike Diver's Score