5 O'Clock Heroes - 'Bend To The Breaks' (Glaze) Released 18/09/06

    Boy, must the Five O'Clock Heroes be relieved (and a bit knackered) to have reached this point. Their forming was as a result front man Antony Ellis, who deciding that England was "too shit and cynical at the time", moving to New York. All at the grand old age of seventeen. As he explains, from 2003 onwards, that was the place to be; a fertile lump of soil where colourful and exiting plants such as The Strokes, The Rapture and Yeah Yeah Yeahs were sprouting up all over the place. Shortly after that, he met guitarist Elliot Thomson in a bar, their bass player Nader Khierbek two weeks later. It was back to jolly old England however for the final Hero, who arrived early this year in the form of drummer Sam Embery. As if that's wasn't enough, the band have been relentlessly touring, paid for on their own credit cards and driving themselves around in a van. One stint involved 42 dates in 46 days. There was a bit of glamour for their sweat however, including tour supports with Brendan Benson, The Bravery and The Paddingtons, and the Brits gig-goers ain't half been standing to attention. Lets find out why.

Well, considering all they've gone through and that they’re now being funded by a record company, you'd expect their debut ‘Bend To The Breaks’ to be something a bit special. It is. Admittedly, it's nothing outrageously new, it is so immediate however that you want to rip it out of your CD player, run to the nearest indie club and press it into the DJs hand with a knife at his/her throat. Opener ‘Head Games’ is packed full of crunchy, stilted chords. Every word seems to be left a letter early, the rhythm is so jerky and precise that everything seems to be almost interrupting each other. With melodic cascading scales, the verses are actually more catchy that the chorus and the whole lot ends in one glorious exhausted heap of fizzing cymbals.

'Good Lover' is a meaty affair. A slinky bass line leads you in before jerky chords rip in and out. Ellis' vocals are on top form here, burstingly hyperactive with the odd yelp and scream dotted around to keep you on your toes. 'Run To Her makes being cheated on sound rather like fun. Ellis' gritty vocal states "I think my girl sleeps with more than one" as the Sting comparisons become obvious. Needless to say, we're talking Police-era Sting (if the lad sounded Sting-era Sting, the CD would've been promptly burned, encased in concrete and dropped in the ocean). The chorus here literally explodes; there's a huge intake of breath as a tonne of guitars with dynamite strapped to them are dropped from a great height.

The absolute highlight has to be ‘Corporate Boys’, sharing the same boundless energy as Iggy Pop's 'Lust For Life', the song follows The Rakes in having a dig at the empty city-boy life, ridiculed in 22 Grand Job. Jagged guitars with a soft reggae tint tease away as the band yells "Corporate Boys", which is infectious on its own. However the chorus is a blissfully crooned piss-take "how I love my life, well I'm sure I'll be back home my nine". In short, a glorious debut that was made for prancing about to; even the yuppies should consider getting time of work as the Hero's embark on a massive tour this September and October. You will not be disappointed. Go on give 'em your support, they deserve it on so many levels.