The Anomalies - Free Soup Social [2009]

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This was not was I expected! It seems previous single Kid Riot was a bit of a curveball as, on Free Soup Social, I was expecting a full on British Beastie-Boys. What weve actually got is Franz Ferdinand gone hip-hop with healthy doses of Jurassic 5-style interludes for good measure. 1830 and Creatures Of Habit for the greater part musically could have easily been outakes from Franz Ferdinands second album if it wasnt for the raps and scratches. Meanwhile, Kid Riot remains a musical joy, bike bells and all, but in the context of the album it sounds very much as if this is the bands Darts of Pleasure - the catchy single that doesnt really define the band as a whole, and who are, to coin a phrase, so much better.

Check out current single, and outstanding track, Old Skool for a good idea of where the band really are. The hip-hop beats are complimentary rather than drivers to their sound. The danger in the past of the hip-hop / indie-pop crossover attempts have been the unsuccessful marriage of two different genres but that doesnt really occur anywhere on the album. However, Jacobs Ladder hints at an assured future in the band - its hip-hop in this track as in most tracks, but again it doesnt feel out of place in the slow moving lament.

A lot of careful thought has gone on to make neither part bigger than the other. With reports of their live act being worth checking, its certainly not a reputation thats been let down by the album and Im sincerely hoping that Ill get the chance to check them out in the near future - a rare thing on the basis of listening to a debut album.