The Keys
Fire Inside (See Monkey Do Monkey)
Former John Peel favourites under the guise of Murry The Hump, now firmly re-established as a 60s doting psychedelic beat combo, The Keys follow up their debut record and a smattering of EPs with their latest long-player Fire Inside.
Opening with the title-track the band sound so delightfully indebted to the melodic prowess of The Kinks and swirling psychedelia of The Velvet Underground that it’s hard to fathom it isn’t some old master that has resurfaced from decades long past.
If the band is in danger of sounding pastiche they soon put things right on ‘Chemistry’, which retains the classic 60s pop influences but stamps The Keys own personality in equal measure. The band repeats this trick on ‘Valley Sun’ and closer ‘O Lord!’ which combine twanging guitars and simple but effective melodies.
On occasion however the band do wear their influences too obviously on their sleeve, and the psychedelic fuzz of ‘Eyes of the World’ does nothing other than sound like an inferior version of Can. Similarly ‘People Meet People’ lacks a little zest and in turn joins a barrage of unexceptional garage rock workouts.
When The Keys get it right they can be so infectious but they walk a fine-line between homage and mere imitation.
Alan Souter
