Little Man Tate – 'About What You Know' (V2) Released 29/01/07

Whereas 2006 may have belonged to the triumphant return of indie thanks to the chart-conquering Arctic Monkeys, Razorlight and The Kooks, 2007 is bracing itself for a ‘new-rave’ invasion with electro prevalent in the fresh batch bands to watch out for. With The Klaxons, Shit Disco and electro-core Enter Shikari soon to take centre stage, Little Man Tate’s debut album may just have come a year too late, as the overcrowded indie scene swells to bursting point due to the aftermath of generic Arctic Monkeys wannabes.

Straight off Little Man Tate’s hometown of Sheffield automatically links them to the Arctics, but although the sound and style is similar LMT have their own set of stunningly simple songs that shrug off any pretence that they aren’t the real deal. Relentless touring has accumulated quite a fan base with recent single ‘What, What You, Got’ sneaking into the top 40. This has been impressively followed up by an LP crammed with toe-tapping, feel-good indie that delves into under-belly of everyday life. Songs about cross-dressing thugs and messy house parties backed up by humorous lyrics like “He dishes out a kicking with a thong under his jeans” make for an entertaining listen.                                        
           
Opening track ‘Man I Hate Your Band’ kicks things off nicely with spiralling riffs, vicious lyrics and a chorus that will surely be embraced in indie nightclubs for months to come. ‘Sexy In Latin’ and ‘3 Day Rule’ immediately stand out with a hip-shaking swagger and staccato riffs. While the slowest song on the album ‘This Must Be Love’ seems to hinder rather than help the flow as it stifles what it an impressive set of upbeat no frills tunes. Whereas ‘Who Invented These Lists?’ and ‘Court Report’ are prime examples of a simple indie tune that should go down a storm in future gigs.

With so many of the songs already feeling familiar due to being singles or having been posted on myspace months before this release its hard to understand why it has taken them so long for the LP to come out. One of the few newer songs ‘European Lover’ is creatively carved pop-rock at its best. Halfway to being a ballad LMT take it down a notch and produce an addictive chorus that also manages to name 6 cities. Another rather baffling move is the exclusion of fans favourites ‘What, What You Got’, ‘Young Offenders’ and ‘Save By A Chat Show’ as with the LP only containing ten tracks its not like cutting down was an issue.

‘About What You Know’ is cleverly crafted indie with tongue-in-cheek lyrics and although LMT may not be breaking any boundaries and certainly aren’t scene-setters, they grab you like a pissed-up mate and take you straight to the dancefloor.