Although this reviewer can hardly complain about the attention The Futureheads have been getting (he's helped fan the flames himself), their Sunderland neighbours THE GOLDEN VIRGINS are also sitting atop one of the year's very best albums in "Songs Of Praise" and - if there's any justice - ought to be blazing a trail to the top themselves before long.
"Songs Of Praise" often verges on dark, alcoholic and utterly compelling psychosis, but - crucially - is leavened by rays of upbeat pop light like we find on "Renaissance Kid". By singer Lucas Renney's self-destructive standards, it's very much a ripping up of the rule book, as he throws open the curtains and sings: "I don't wanna wake up feeling evil no more" early on here, while the Virgins make with propulsive, full-on pop akin to The Modern Lovers' "Roadrunner" and quite possibly their best chorus yet. Besides, after the scary self-loathing of tunes like "Staying Sober", hearing Renney suggest "jealousy and bitterness are useless and weak" is a real breath of fresh air.
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Stay tuned for the new B-side "Tricks Are For Kids", too. Here, splatchy, analogue synths set up a Romeo and Juliet scenario ("I'll be your humble servant if you'll just lay down for me") with a typically fatalistic twist that shows Renney and alcohol's guiles are still on intimate terms for all the deceptive, new-found positivity. It proceeds to morph into a Glam-my stomper that's both wicked and bloody irresistible: which is pretty much The Golden Virgins reduced to a soundbite anyway.
Another cracking single then. I'm hardly liable to start dissing The Futureheads' wonderful Dr.Jekylls at this stage, but let's not forget the seductive havoc being wreaked by the North-East's very own quartet of My.Hydes. The Golden Virgins continue to prowl pop's post-midnight mean streets. Look out for their shadows around the next corner.
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