The vital stats: four members, four beautiful though not necessarily new born children between them, nine songs, 23 minutes long – including the seven-minute closer.
And 100% garage rock. Which you may not have expected from Germany-based Michael Beckett, the brains behind electronic project Kpt.Michi.Gan and guitarist for the electro ways of Schneider TM. But with the fuzzy vocals pounding out, fighting with noisy guitar and constantly crashing cymbals for the centre stage (the poor bass doesn’t even get a look in), you can hear the paint stripper and heavy-duty torch fall off their shelves, they’re really that garage rock. Think of the demo that The Strokes would have recorded for current single ‘Juicebox’ if they’d had a budget of 5¢ and a deadline of four hours, and you’re in the ballpark.
Yet when thoughts turn to how accessible they may be – clearly irrelevant in this case, thanks to their status as a Domino (all hail) artist – there’s good news. Far from being noise for noise’s sake, there’s actually some method behind their madness. Rarely do they lose themselves in a tangle of reverb, keeping themselves in some sort of loose check. Indeed, the two-minute limit on songs ensures that we crave more of their highlights (the genius of ‘Paper Mill’ being the most notable) and quickly gloss over the mediocre tracks (‘Hey Heart Breaker’). Dig a little deeper, and you’ll find some amusing lyrics, whether they’re the untouchable words "Hey hey, I got a new complaint’ or the cheerful punk of ‘Hey I’m OK/And I don’t really give a fuck about what you say" in ‘OK, Alright, Fine’.
Particuarly one for Graham Coxon fans and those who were intrigued by Liquorice Comfits during High Fidelity, but with a rightful appeal to all.