With a music scene as densely populated as the city itself, London bands in the main can be hard work to review. To cut through scenester wannabes to find the genuine musicians is needle/haystack stuff. The ‘Nu-rave scene’ and its derivatives are succumbed to, and bands can morph into one big tumble dryer of Topman clothing.
Nephu huzzband aren’t terrible, but they encapsulate some of the negatives described above. There are promising moments; Franz Ferdinand passes the poppers to Joy Division to make ‘Papers’ jolt along nicely. It’s a nice mix of sombre and rock chic, but there is always a niggling doubt in your mind that they me just be another well dressed group straight off the production line. No bad, but there isn’t enough to suggest success long-term.