Voo - 'Dates, Facts & Figures' (Spank) Released 21/08/06

Despite hailing from Liverpool, jingle-jangle alt rockers Voo sound like they should have been brought up in a snowy Midwestern city, such is their debt to American alt-rock bands like Guided by Voices, Death Cab for Cutie and Pavement. Debut long-player 'Dates, Facts and Figures', released on Spank Records it is probably the least British sounding album you'll hear from a band from these shores this year, and it's all the better for it.

Taking their cues squarely from mid-90's college radio, Voo mix Beach Boys harmonies with the kind of sharp, low-fi songwriting that has won the Shins armies of fans across the globe. Lead single 'On The Return' sounds like vintage Posies, 'The Constant Threat of Falling Buildings' (surely a better name than Voo, guys?) like the Lemonhead's classic 'Rudderless.' Album highlight 'For Sake of Space' could be lifted straight off Death Cab's lauded 'Plans' album, such is the maturity and scope of Voo's writing, even at such an early stage in their career. Likewise, the bouncy sing a long 'Shape and Size' is the type of song you wish Stephen Malkmus would still write, and 'Favourite Films' bears a startling similarity to the best bits of Bandwagonesque-era Teenage Fanclub.

It could be all too easy to become wrapped up in highlighting Voo's influences, which would be a great disservice to the band – in reality, they've brought out the best of their obvious love of Americana and produced a glorious and unexpected selection of tracks, equal parts affectionate homage and revivalist updating. 'Dates, Facts and Figures' is as surprising as it is luminous, gleefully dispensing with any moribund Liverpudlian stereotypes and creating a uniquely charming sound – a warm, fuzzy wash of power pop that completely ignores the Corals, Dead 60's and Zutons of the this country, creating a world of their own, where the Beatles were beaten back at American immigration by legions of sun-worshipping West Coast bands.

Voo have produced an unassuming classic of a debut – a pure, unalloyed joy from start to finish. Without pretensions, or hampered by any aspirations to fit into a current scene, three sensitive chaps from Britain's second music city have produced an album that will blindside young hipsters – perhaps its too revivalist, too Teenage Fanclub for many, but essential nonetheless. While rebellious teenagers grasp desperately at bands with eyeliner and attitude, Voo's album could, and should be celebrated as a quiet victory for British rock – imaginative, exciting and unafraid to go against the grain.

We can only hope they don't suffer the same fate as fellow Americana enthusiasts Lowgold, who ploughed a similar, if slightly more depressing furrow and paid the price of refusing to pander to the record buying public by… well, selling no records. However, Voo, despite having one of the worst band names in the history of music seemed more than well equipped for the long haul.