Hey idiotboy, hey daftgirl...familiar indie...here we go!
This writer may have heard the phrase "idiot boy" many a time in his long life but 'Burn' is the debut single by Idiotboy and is more pleasant on the ear than some of the other insults he has endured.
The overall impression of the two-track release is that it's reminiscent of Radiohead from The Bends era. Given that there are many people who don't particularly like the 'Head's current musical output and yearn for a simpler state of affairs this could be a welcome release for many. With the muted guitar hum and lilting vocal over the top, as the guitar riff picks out its way in the background and the song spirals up to the chorus the sense of déjà vu is clear to see.
However, the song is really good even allowing for its familiarity. Lets face it, bands are big nowadays for sounding like Coldplay or commercial era Blur, its probably churlish to criticise a band for aping the sound of a really good act.
B-Side 'Hung Up' has a quiet acoustic march through it and again, the Thom Yorke styled vocals lay over the backing thrum and sound rather pleasant but invariably builds to a crescendo at the end.
As a debut single, 'Burn' isn't really original but it is very good and surely that's important as well.