Every so often a band emerge who create such a buzz that, temporarily at least, one is reluctantly persuaded to set aside the world weary cynicism which has inevitably come from enduring too many bands who promised so much and then delivered so little.
It is a dangerous game. The last time this ugly phenomena occured many of us were hoodwinked into believing that Gay Dad were the future of popular music and there is no need to linger on how that turned out.
The hype has been growing around Dublin threesome JJ72 ever since they started to seep into public consciousness at the beginning of the year.
Certainly with a trio of stunning singles behind them and a string of gigs that prompted the most hardened of musical hacks to reach for their thesauruses in search of the adjectives to sum up their musical brilliance, JJ72 seem able to justify the hype more than most.
At first glance this album does nothing to dissuade from this point of view. 'Not Like You' and 'Snow' are as simple, immediate and powerful as anything Oasis could muster in the early days, whilst 'Oxygen' and 'October Swimmer' are both songs which, through their impressively ambitious nature, withstand endless repetition.
At the risk of sounding like a killjoy, however, it is perhaps necessary to temper this unbridled enthusiasm with some words of caution. Given that we live in a world where the unfailingly polite Travis are deemed worthy of being the biggest band in the country, maybe there is a national tendency to cling on to any spotty punk prodigies who show a spark of musical invention, in the hope that they may one day lead us away from this bland and featureless musical wilderness.
JJ72 are certainly not without their faults. Some of their lyrics attempt the kind of sixth form bed-sit poetry that Morrissey made his stock in trade, and the like of which nobody has been able to match since. Meanwhile 'Improv' sounds frighteningly like the Manics, a condition that is surely to be avoided at all costs.
That said 'JJ72' is at times a fantastically impressive debut from the most vibrant band to emerge this year. Prepare to be excited. JJ72 could very well be that rare breed. A band who are as good as their hype suggests.
