It Won't Be Long Now - The Brights (Bitterscene Records)

Are we having a Britpop revival now? Look at The Brights with their wee mod haircuts and cups of tea - bless their little RAF target socks. Remember when there were a few months where The Bluetones seemed like an exciting pop prospect? When they first popped up with ltd. ed. seven inches of 'Slight Return' on inky blue vinyl and played gleeful gigs with jangling, shimmering 60s-toned guitars? Well that's a bit what The Brights sound like here. There's also an Undertones warble to the vocals and a Johnny Marr twangle to the guitars, which can't be bad. 'It Won't Be Long Now' is quick-stepping modboy indie-pop with exactly the right amount of jangling top-spin. 'Wear Your Art On Your Sleeve' fizzes along briskly with sparkling lemonade guitars. Both tracks on this seven inch, released by esteemed 'indiependently minded' Chelmsford types Bitterscene, are gratifyingly fresh sounding, a record to shuck off your blankets and throw open your windows to. The Brights bring us Springtime several months early and do spinny little dances on Winter's grave.

(P.S. Look out for Brushfield Street in Spitalfields on the sleeve. I used to walk down there every day. Good job I don't have to anymore, 'cos my heart breaks every time I see what's been done to the place.)

http://www.thebrights.co.uk/
http://www.bitterscene.co.uk/bitterscenerecords.htm