The Voom Blooms - Anna/The Models of Soho [Single]
 

The Voom Blooms play NME-friendly, quirky indie pop in the vein of Babyshambles, Dirty Pretty Things and (not as much as they’d like to think) Interpol. This is the kind of band you either love or hate – there isn’t much middle ground. To their credit, the ‘Blooms should be complimented for actually sounding British in the current climate of US emo/pop-punk wannabes sweeping the boards. The tracks on this single, particularly ‘The Models of Soho’ evoke a uniquely British kind of urban grittiness and libertines-esque bohemian coolness with lines about “Dancing with his bird in a club the other day….”. All delivered with a charmingly mockney accent. Don’t forget these guys are from Loughborough, not Camden, so it’s probably their local Yates Wine Lodge not some edgy basement club in the big smoke we’re talking about here. The band’s web page is quick to point out the praise they’ve received from the likes of Steve Lamacq and Zane Lowe (and of course the hallowed NME) yet the appeal of lead single ‘Anna’ eludes me. This is pretty derivative indie fare that neither breaks new ground or heads to the plateau of greatness that a great pop tune needs to reach. It’s not all bad; some tasteful lead guitar licks and occasional keyboard flourishes add some nice atmospherics and dynamics to the tracks, yet while there may be a decent tune buried in there somewhere, overall this whole package is just too lightweight and too weak to truly satisfy. Also, has nobody pulled them up on their name yet? Like the Kaiser Cheifs who were previously known as Parva, maybe the Voom Blooms are one name-change away from the glory they seek and the songs they require. Then again…..