8

Feel Good Indie

As soon as you put on this CD, the instant burst of feel good, glittering indie reassures you that The Upper Room aren't going to be your generic whining indie group. Melodic and mellow, 'All Over This Town' is one of those songs that can mean something to everyone and the echoing vocals really get into your head. 'Black And White' has the same very personal narrative, which resonates alongside the sparkling guitars and thoughtful guitars in the chorus. The lyrics are so simplistic and accessible that there's almost a hint of britpop about it, "I met her under shelter, we were hiding from the rain/ she was blowing bubbles and I'll never feel the same".

'Never Come Back' is the big, sorrowful number with some cellos chugging away on your heartstrings in the background, it's a nice enough tune, but it becomes a little insipid and you almost feel that if the band pulled themselves together a bit more and stopped moping over some girl, they'd pack a lot more punches in their music. 'Leave Me Alone' talks about taking (presumably) the same girl shopping and her spurning their advances again, while it's still a solid tune with some lovely guitarwork and a subtle crescendo, a change of theme would be very welcome. By track 5, entitled 'Kill Kill Kill' one would assume things had got pretty bad, well actually it's a pretty jaunty little tune still, no death and destruction at all- phew! A nice breezy closer with a very positive outlook, it's a smart slice of indie pop.

The Upper Room can certainly produce good music, whether there's enough variation in their tracks for an album to go down well would be a concern, but the songs are meaningful, well choreographed and generally feel good, especially on a cold autumn night.