Grand National are two blokes (Lawrence 'La' Rudd and Rupert Lyddon) who used to play Police covers in pubs around the South East of England. Together they've managed to produce one of the summer's more inspiring pop offerings. To date they have invited comparisons to everyone from Blur, Talk Talk, The Police and (...wait for it, Jaded Ed) Gang Of Four, though this record lies somewhere very different to the sounds that might suggest.
Given the booze-referencing title and the fact that this is being released on the hedonistic Sunday Best imprint, you might be led into assuming their debut long-player is a crapulous affair. Don't be. It's not.
Its insouciance is certainly intoxicating though. The title track opens the LP and serves immediately to illustrate the duo's penchant for summery grooves, sonorous guitars and pop-lite vocals. The sound – which is organic in a kind of lets-get-our-kits-off-in-the-park-together way – is a thread throughout the LP.
Their pop-rock background also shows through consistently. Punctuating these lighter tracks are a couple of more assertive moments, most notably the grimy disco of "Playing In The Distance" (not about masturbation apparently), which would kick ass on any knowingly retro dancefloor (as might "Cherry Tree"), and the boisterous ska-swagger of "Boner" (also - allegedly – not sexually inclined).
What is interesting is how the pair let their music do much of the talking, content to let their vocals (which sound now and again like Sting) to trip along melodically like just any other instrument.
It makes for a cool sound that might be too inoffensive at times but which grabs all the right places most of the time. If only pub-rock were this charming all the time.
