It’s not going to change the world, but there’s a chance it might change your mood. Tuneful, energetic Nuggets-obsessed mannerism is on offer from The Modests. There are sugar rushes of pleasure to be had here and there. The ‘Don’t Hold Back’ EP is short enough to be experienced from start to finish with each listen and that’s probably the best way to approach it. Beyond the Electric Prunes-y/Wimple Winch nostalgia there’s a verve that pulls it together and some seriously desperate guitar freakouts that test manual dexterity critical hard-heartedness nicely. If you can only listen to one track, “07505412355” is probably the pick, nicely disorganised, stop-and-start guitars, melody creeps in only to be shattered here and there. The Fresh and Onlys do it better, but it’s still creditable. You never feel like you’re wasting your time listening, but ‘Don’t Hold Back’ never becomes indispensible. A modest achievement.
