MOJO – 22nd June 2013

“Brothers White locate their inner Teenage Fanclub”

Thomas and Alex White spent eight years chasing the commercial success that so often doesn’t follow critical acclaim, eventually grinding to an exhausted halt after 2007’s No Need to Be Downhearted, an album that threw in the kitchen sink as one last desperate-sounding grope for the stars. Six years, several waspish Thomas solo albums and some family tragedies later, they come full circle, returning to work with producers of their debut Holes in The wall – Chris “Tears For Fears” Hughes and Mark Frith – and packing their album with classic English guitar pop somewhere between mid-80s XTC and Grand Prix-era Teenage Fanclub. Perfect pitch harmonies and chiming guitars glide through 10 tracks of heartbreaks, make-ups and drunken misadventures disguised as glorious summertime breezes. Re-energised and focused after their sabbatical, it’s an absolutely pleasure to have them back. 4/5