We Thrive On Big Cities - Director

Well if The Hours were a mystery to me until recently, at least I'd heard of them when their CD arrived in my lap. I'd not a clue about Director until I stuck the CD in the player for a spin.

And my first thought was why the hell not? A cursory Internet search shows that this album was nominated for the Choice Music Prize (which as far as I can gather is the Irish version of the Mercury Music Award) and you can immediately see why. The next thought was "this is a bit like the Editors but with a better singer" and repeat listens somewhat bear that out.

It's a catchy collection from start to finish. Particular highlights include the single Reconnect, which starts off as a somewhat typical indie jaunt before transforming itself into a cacophony of intense bliss. Leave It To Me is another great tune, starting off somewhat mellow before exploding into something totally different, but great all the same.

The pick of the bunch may well be I Only Realise, a great number and with its opening lyrics "I've only just realised, she was drunk both times" it might well sum up my entire life! ;-D

So basically if "indie powerpop" (thanks EG ;-D) is your thing you could do a hell of lot worse than check this out. Any fan of, say, Editors or The Killers would certainly find this a welcome addition to their collection.

The only criticism might be that the production job is a little too polished (at times we're almost drifting into Snow Patrol territory) but that doesn't really spoil your enjoyment too much. A delightful discovery. With any luck more people will hear them in 2007.