Tiny Dancers
Free School Milk
7/10
Despite what you may assume, Tiny Dancers are not named after the Elton John classic. They chose to call themselves after a bunch evil dwarfs from horror flick The Masque Of The Red Death. And looking at their dark cartoon artwork I half expected the Sheffield fivesome's dÈbut album to resemble a modern Pink Floyd.
Assumptions aside, they're a down-to earth group of lads, with a young and childlike melodic work of indie, jingly-jangly pop to represent them. Kicking off a charming group of sweet tunes, '20 to 9' introduces us slowly and gradually from a rhythmic, almost tribal drumbeat. In unison the bass brings the melody to a climax of guitars taking over the forefront. Strangely it doesn't reflect the rest of the album's jelly and ice cream, care-free attitude.
Second track 'I Will Wait For You' jumps in and sounds like a starter of Razorlight and a main course of The Fratellis. Summery and clement, it conjures images of festival fields and of youngsters jumping vertically in time, with its jaunty two-note bassline. Other tracks like 'Shame' and 'Bonfire Of The Night' remind me of The Boy Least Likely To with simple xylophone clinking and bouncing, hand-claps and Jim'll-Fix-It-style ba-ba harmonies over the rest of the music.
To conclude this pop collection, sea shanty 'Deep Water' starts as a wonderful lullaby that serenades and progresses with synthesiser imitating the crashing of waves on a shoreline. This assembly of cheerful pop expressions are perfect for getting you in the mood for the summer. They don't require too much attention or thought and, appropriately, the lyrics are fairly easy to solve too. The only problem is their similarity to a lot of other bands that are gaining popularity at this present time. Sounding close to The Maccabees or Cherry Ghost, it isn't anything ground breaking or influential, just wide-eyed, innocent pop with a touch of sincerity.
- Ellie Quinn
