Yahoo! Music Review

Released on 23/06/08
Label: Universal

Many harsh words have been exchanged concerning the quality of the line-ups at many of this summer's festivals. Indeed, Glastonbury - the mack daddy of them all - is probably the highest profile casualty (and by "casualty" we mean a few thousand unsold tickets out of 150,000) but it's time we got to the root of the problem.

The reason the line-ups seem so bland is because of the bands that are trotted out to do the rounds. Don't blame the festival organisers; they only take what's available and what becomes available is down to some people making shocking clams for dross that doesn't deserve it. Yes, we're talking hype again.

The dreadfully named Courteeners are a case in point. Just because you're from Manchester and have a singer called Liam who burns with a misguided ambition doesn't automatically make you the bee's knees. Especially when delivering nonsense like this that would even make The Twang think twice.

    by Julian Marszalek