WhiteMoor - WhiteMoor

by John Medd
(York/Nottingham UK)

The whole Indie scene has come in for a bit of a shoeing of late; talk of Indie Landfill coupled with bands finding the metronomic formula and never changing gear, abound.

So when this debut offering from Derby (UK) tearaways WhiteMoor was thrust at me recently I was, as you can understand, slightly apprehensive before putting the disc in the player; I needn't have worried. Right from the get go, as they say in certain parts, though probably not in Derbyshire, this is a band who are crying out to be heard.

Album opener, and their first single, Three Words, is as urgent a start to a record as I've heard in along while; imagine somebody running away from a burning building - that's about to explode.

The Element Of Surprise and Lay Me Down tip a wink to the 80s (comparisons with The Killers are hard to avoid) with confident vocals courtesy of Ben Ryan and complimented by maverick guitarist Barrington.

Mmm, that's what I thought, Barrington. The only real let up is when they strip it down to acoustic guitars and keyboards with the piano led Remember Remember with it's catchy 'did anyone kiss me last night?' refrain.

Then it's back to business as usual: With Pieces and At The Crescendo showcase the driving rhythm section of Luke Ingliss on bass and Tom Scribbins on drums - before the delightfully hypnotic Chapters completes this self assured debut, which, with its slick packaging, has all the feel of a major release.