This Is Just A Modern Rock Blog

Second full length from Sheffield, England based band the Long Blondes is a more focused affair than their US debut, which was 16 tracks of punk and New Wave fueled pop glory with echoes of Siouxie and the Banshees, Elastica, Pulp, the Human League and ABC (the latter three being Sheffield bands as well). Their influences still shine through, and they’ve maintained their sardonically witty take on the world, but Couples seems a more relaxed and assured album, more New Wave than punk, with added synths alongside the guitars. It’s as good an album as Someone To Drive You Home in its own way, perhaps a shade better, with the band, led by Kate Jackson on lead vocals, who is fast becoming one of my favorite singers, showing new depth and range. It’s smart pop for adults that you can dance to, and the world can’t get enough of that, I don’t think. If you didn’t catch their US debut last year, here’s your chance to discover one of the coolest bands going. Standout cuts: “Century,” “The Couples,” “Round The Hairpin” and “Too Clever By Half.”

http://www.myspace.com/thelongblondes