Despite their name, nothing about this group is avant anything. There are however traces of Beatle influence (“Nobody Wants to Know”), along with elements of other ’60s and ’70s luminaries (e.g. the Glen Tilbrook-style vocals on “Heart Attack”) and some classic guitar riffing (“She Ain’t Mine”). This makes for an album which feels akin to listening to a half hour oldies segment on the radio or a very skilful bar band. So although they have penned these songs, for the most part it feels misleading to call them originals.
‘Love U’ is one of the better efforts, with an especially catchy chorus reinforced by the smack of the drums and some sharp-toothed guitar. It’s only on the closing tracks, ‘In Pieces’ and ‘Who’d Stop Me’, that hints of a more original band emerge, with some expressive guitar-work gracing the former and touches of dub echo on the latter. These are only hints, but this is a young band: the question is are they ambitious or imaginative enough to go any further.