Needs Must - Thankyou For Choosing
I am not a Weller-haircut sporting, Fred Perry wearing, Red Stripe-favouring fan of The Enemy. However, if I were, I should imagine that single "Thankyou For Choosing" by Kent-based indie outfit Needs Must would be right up my street. It's one of those thoroughly British garage rock sounding tracks that aspires to be an anthem to the band's following, particularly with a gearing towards socio-political and topical commentary within its lyrics.
Musically, the chunky bass line and shimmery guitar riffs combined with the gravelly regional vocals gives Needs Must a sound driven by that unmistakeably laddish swagger of confidence like the aforementioned comparison, The Enemy, or other similar acts like The Courteeners. The song itself is a bit of a grower, after a few listens you may find yourself joining in with the odd 'woah oh', but whether it's a hit is another matter. Perhaps it is a lack of freshness, or perhaps the track just misses an extra layer of sound to give it a bit of muscle, either way it does fall a little short somewhere.
The second track on the single, 'Shrapnel Queen' suggests another direction that Needs Must experiment with within their sound. There's Richard Ashcroft's 'Song For Lovers' style trumpet smattering the verses as well as a feel of The Fratellis' approach to indie rock running throughout. This track is more impressive musically than lyrically or vocally, the chorus itself unpinning some of the hard graft ground out instrumentally.
Not a bad single, but Needs Must has a lot of maturing to go through before they can cultivate a sound more independent from the influences that pepper their sound.