Neverheed is a promising debut album from Newcastle trio Les Cox (Sportifs), showcasing a band with a nice line in pithy observational lyrics, and more than a couple of catchy hooks in its arsenal. It’s all very knowingly lo-fi as the band sound like they’re playing cheap guitars through broken amps, while the drummer bangs away on a toy kit, apparently in the name of sounding properly ‘indie’.
They just about get away with it because the songs themselves are generally interesting and lively, but it makes for a slightly repetitive listen as there isn’t much variation between tracks.
The deceptively jaunty ‘No Jokes No Lies’, which finds singer Christopher Rollen wearily observing the loss of the local park to private investors and the “shitty council”, is probably the most successful example of the sort of ramshackle kitchen-sink aesthetic that Les Cox (Sportifs) are trying to achieve. It’s short and punchy, and Rollen’s wryly amusing lyrics mask a serious message. ‘Permanent Marker’ and ‘Sad Song Singer’ are also enjoyable, but others such as ‘Camo’ and ‘Les Cox Special’ don’t stand up quite so well as Rollen’s wordy observations occasionally becomes a bit tiresome, and you get the impression that the band have mistaken low production values for authenticity.
The highlight is undoubtedly ‘Dresden’, which sees the jangly guitars and frantic tempo of the rest of the album replaced by a rumbling bassline and a more thoughtful pace, as Rollen stops trying to be a stand-up comedian and sings like he has something to say. It’s a tremendous song, full of the sort of dark and dramatic atmosphere that countless other bands strive for and fail to achieve, and if the album had more like it, Les Cox (Sportifs) would be a band to get excited about, rather than just a band to keep an eye on.