What a pleasant surprise. 9 times out of 10 when one hears a record by an unknown band the results range from mediocre to unlistenable. Wintermute buck that trend with their wonderful debut album 'Robot Works'. The press release that arrived bolstered to my copy of Robot Sleep claims that "Fast-rising producer James Kenosha (Grammatics, Pulled Apart By Horses) has brought the intense emotion, ferocity, and precision of the Wintermute live performance to the forefront" and on this evidence I'm not going to argue.

Wintermute take Foals and The Futureheads jerky indie-dance pop template and infuse it with the harder edged, more esoteric stylings of At The Drive In, Mcclusky and early Modest Mouse.... and for the most part it works a treat. Opener "Bad Company In A Sauna" (whether they are referring to the band or a large naked Russian Mafioso is beyond me) is immediately engaging with hooks to spare and a really vibrant sound. It veers off in a thousand different directions but never loses focus and that's a real testament to the bands song-craft. "Disco Loadout" isn't quite as immediate but energy levels remain high and the chorus (while not particularly melodic) is certainly catchy, but the beatific circular riffs at the bridge aside it's one of the album weaker moments. "Gambling Or Playing Cards" is probably the most immediate song on the record and comes across like an ADD afflicted Death Cab For Cutie. Singer/guitarists 'Dan Howard' and 'David Hemmings' sound as if their pants are on fire as they spit the infectious chorus, "wake up honey, your breaking me in half". In a perfect world this song would be played on rotation by radio 1 but in reality it's probably a little too niche and quirky.

The shuffling beauty of early album highlight "An Irrational Fear Of" really brings to mind Modest Mouse's strange beauty and is testament to the bands latent potential for daring eclecticism with some really delicate melodies and a yearning string section. It's a shame that there are few more moments on the record of it's ilk. "I Abandoned My Boy" is cut from the same cloth but doesn't quite scale the same heights (the solo piano that ends the song is truly beautiful though). The pace picks up again on "Shark Vs E-Boat" with some of the records most memorable guitar lines and vocal hooks, in fact it's at this point of the record that I began to notice just how catchy these songs are. The guitar lines on every song are remarkably intricate and yet catchy as fuck which is a balance I'm sure Foals would have killed for on their (in my opinion anyway) disappointing 'Balloons' album. The vocals too (while abrasive at times) manage to sound emotional without any inherit whininess and that both Howard and Hemmings manage to pull of such intricate guitar work whilst taking care of mic duties must surely prove their musical chops to even the most hardened cynic. The rhythm section doesn't play second fiddle here either with "Ben Johnson" supplying some of the tightest dance beats and most eccentric drum fills I've heard in years and bass-lines which are constantly on the move, there's no Kim Deal style one note plodding here, "Chris Newbould" is up and down the fret-board like a man possessed. "Spanish Girls" complements "Shark" well but is essentially more of the same and after the thrill of discovering the bands greatness in the last track I was at this point starting to see a formula emerge. This formula is repeated on "Dead Or Not He Was Wearing Sunglasses", "Ask A Stupid Question" and album closer "Jambon! Jambon!" (ham! ham!). However even where the songs become almost interchangeable and lapse into repetition the hooks are so varied and constant it ceases to matter once you've given the album a few spins and the songs have really sunk in (with "Dead" in particular containing one of the most powerful chorus's I've heard this year).

"The Fall Of Hans Gruber" (Yippee Ki Yay) begins with an almost Mogwai esc guitar pattern and some of the records most subtle vocal moments but emerges later as a balls out rocker. I really love songs which shift and change dynamic and direction so effectively and as such this was another album highlight for me. Of course I've already discussed the records other 'soft song' "I Abandoned My Boy' so all that's left to discuss is "Emerald Hill". For me this is the albums peak and is a really interesting contrast coming so soon after nearly 2 minutes of sombre piano. "We kicked our legs and swam from the shore" begins Howard as the song meanders through polyrhythmic soundscapes, melodic, staccato guitar interplay and some really well handled softer 'breaks'. It's the most dynamic thing here and it's a shame it's followed by the relative disappointment that is "Jambon Jambon" (great name aside of course).

So the album has it's faults yes, but it remains an excellent debut release which more than anything displays Wintermute's limitless potential. If I were to compare this to any recent recent I'd say Future Of The Lefts 'Curses' would be this albums kindred spirit. However Wintermute have a significantly more assured ear for pop hooks and melodies so chances for their cross-over success are much more assured. Robot Works is an ebullient collection of nerve shredding, tension packed pop songs played with gusto by one of the tightest and most interesting new bands in the country. kudos lads, kudos.

Tracklisting

1. *Bad Company In A Sauna*
2. Disco Loadout
3. *Gambling Or Playing Cards?*
4. *An Irrational fear Of*
5. Shark Vs E-Boat
6. Spanish Girls
7. *The Fall Of Hans Gruber*
8. Dead Or Not Dead He Was Wearing Sunglasses
9. Ask A Stupid Question
10. *I Abandoned My Boy*
11. *Emerald Hill*
12. Jambon! Jambon!

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