FEET
What's Inside Is More Than Just Ham

Just reading the title of this debut is enough to understand what these very young Feet are made of.

An indie band from Coventry, they arrive at their first work with this "What's Inside Is More Than Just Ham," pouring into it all their irreverence and extravagance. Indie, britpop, rock, doo-wop, funk, punk, psych-pop: no genre is ignored by these lovable British jokers, who deliver an incredibly uncohesive debut, and precisely for this reason, it's irresistibly fun and full of charm.

The main point of reference seems to be Blur: clearly not the experimental ones of the post-eponymous 1997 era, but not strictly the britpop of "The Great Escape" and "Parklife" either. Rather, those yet to be refined from "Modern Life Is Rubbish," mixed with the irreverence and cheekiness of the Libertines. And then Happy Mondays, Buzzcocks, Super Furry Animals, and Shame (all cited by the band themselves) to create an explosive and thrilling mix.

Nothing adventurous, then: for now, the references are all there. But the Feet are very good and manage to express themselves in a colorful and personal manner, summarizing, in the excellent opener "Good Richard's Crash Landing," a high-quality rise and fall, more or less all the content we’ll find later.

The most immediate moments have all been extracted as teaser singles: ranging from the classic britpop of "Ad Blue" and the fantastic "English Weather," to the garage drenched in post-punk of "Petty Thieving." "Outer Rim" is practically a successor to Blur's "Advert," "Chalet 47" is psychedelically punk enough, while "Wiggy Pop" wraps up smoothly with delightful surf rock.

The perfect mixing by Alan Moulder (it wasn't easy to make such a sonic orgy sound this clear) delivers a convincing debut; if the lads can channel all their artistic impulses properly in their next album, we’re in for a treat.

Best track: Good Richard's Crash Landing