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After spending what seems an absolute age travelling the length and breath of the UK touring alongside names like The Pipettes and Dinosaur Jr, Actress Hands release their album 'Boys Need Jazz'. Recorded almost a year ago it would seem that the bands debut album is an attempt at reliving the heights of that creative, care free 90's shoe gaze period.
Opener 'Can't Believe What I'm Hearing' is a harmonic yet subdued initiation to any newcomer of the Brighton based four piece. Like a Marillion tribute act, Actress Hands step up with a harmonically charged number with vocals comparable to the afore mention middle aged rockers and a spell binding acoustical accompaniment. 'Snack Horse' is a significant improvement on the album's opener with far more pizzazz about it. With a catchy melody running throughout and the intervention of a little brass courtesy of Phil Sumner the track draws upon the spirit and magical craft of Dire Straits for inspiration.
The songs title track 'Boys Need Jazz', as the hype around them suggests, is a certain step up from previous material and emits an overly edgy sound over and above band influences Teenage Fanclub and Guided By Voices. From here on however the albums quality seems to plateau.
Many of Actress Hands tracks like 'Never Run' and 'The Reducer' have beautifully orchestrated instrumentation, rhythm, and catchy melodies but what lets this summery album down is the vocal drudgery of lead guitarist Matt Eaton. Uncomfortable to listen at times, lyrics fit awkwardly in places and Eaton makes a hash of things by droning his lyrics out like a half comatosed hobo. Bar the first three or four tracks on this album, Eaton's vocal lets the side down sounding less like the quality of Marillion's Steve Hogarth and fitting more into the bracket of 'highly annoying vocalist' with the likes of Kate Nash.
