Keith - 'Vice And Virtue' (Lucky Number) Released 09/02/09

Manchester-based Keith are back for a second crack at the big time. After debut Red Thread was released back in 2006 to almost universal indifference, the near three year wait for this sophomore release should have seen the quartet, now approaching seven years together, hone their craft and release a killer album on the unsuspecting public, right? Nuh-uh; that judgement’s more wrong than 2 Girls 1 Cup.

It’s not that there’s anything inherently bad about this album; there’s just all too little to provoke a reaction. The lads are clearly able to knock up a decent chorus when they try, and the rhythm section are proficient enough. However, those choruses are all to lacking to the extent that most of the album passes by without grabbing the attention at all – it’s as if, in their attempt to develop a laid-back funk style, they’ve largely forgotten to bother with any kind of hook. With a couple of exceptions, the most notable being You Don’t Know – one of the few genuinely memorable moments here, making the choice of the entirely passable Lullaby a truly baffling choice of lead single – much of Vice and Virtue goes straight in one ear and out the other, veering perilously close to lounge-jazz-with guitars.

‘Up Into The Clouds’ also manages to prick the ears for a moment, sounding a bit like Welcome To The North-era The Music, but in reality, were it concocted by the Leeds boys, it would have been left to the rehearsal room, a B-side at best. Worst of all, both of these tracks fall in the album’s first half; by the latter there’s so little to miss you may as well go and put the kettle on. This is typified by the closing title track: nine-and-a-half minutes of utter stupor that is so baffling in its tepid repetition it leaves us wondering: where do they go from here? And with this album unlikely to gather much critical or public acclaim, the answer for Keith may, unfortunately, be back to the day jobs.