TIGHTLY UNWOUND

As a band, there are worse groups than Radiohead you could choose to emulate, but where they fear to tread Pineapple Thief dive in with glee, extending their compositions and indulging themselves in over-seriousness. As a (bad) reviewer, this band honestly worries me so I wonder what their idols think of them - are they flattered or just infuriated that they have missed the point?

Tightly Unwound sits somewhere between The Bends and your favourite latter-day Porcupine Tree album, coming off as overblown, elaborated atmospheric rock; the vocalist, one Bruce Soord, is a clear admirer of Thom Yorke and imitates his fragile snarl of a voice in most conditions, and the bandmembers pick their spots accordingly, supporting their leader with functional, alt-rock styled backing, all strumming and strangely emphasised beats. It is hard to find their music sincere, having heard the prototype band, since all the songs of Tightly Unwound are over-professional and bloated compared. You will appreciate that Radiohead knew when to hear a song, when to add more than locked-down waves of guitar; when, above all, their music would sound playful and affecting rather than, well, solid.

This album is very solid. In fact, it's a predictable and textureless brick. It has no emotional properties that aren't simply borrowed and played from muscle memory alone; it is Disney alt-rock, it is Radiohead fan-fiction where the author couldn't get into Amnesiac. I tried to be nicer but this deserves nothing from me - I find it to be a literally disposable album. If you are more forgiving of this new prog style then this hour of boredom may suit you, but please support more original bands.