The murmurings of good press that have accompanied XX Teens over the course of the last six months or so all seem to draw upon the idea that the London five-piece make music that is ‘uncategorisable’ – what they do can’t be pigeon-holed into the remit of a particular genre. Which does seem a little strange. A quick listen to their debut long player immediately points in the direction of punk – dirty sounding, characterised by rudimentary drumming, often with a nervous energy and a decidedly glamour-less vocal. A punk ethos runs through this record, it’s what makes the thing hang together, but waiting in the wings are bursts of ska, nods to hip hop, spoken word, power pop and fleeting moments of diversely ambitious instrumentation. It’s traditional punk then, but not quite as we know it. Rather, it’s brimming with new ideas.

Welcome to Goon Island – its title a possible reference to the band’s background of art-school upstarts intent on far reaching experimentation and abstract ideas – arrives after somewhat of a struggle. There has been the odd line-up change, and periods in the doldrums without a manager. Indeed, the band spent an entire evening in a London boozer intent on coaxing Steve Lamacq into managing them. Lamacq refused – though he is a huge fan of the band – citing a lack of experience and the fact that he was ‘too soft.’ So, a triumph against adversity it may have been, but the key test is what’s actually on offer.

A spiralling harp marks the start of album opener The Way We Were – before a derivative punky backing takes over. The out-on-his-arse vocals of singer Rich Cash  here sound remarkably like Julian Casablancas - think of the vocals present on the Strokes’ third album, where Casablancas sings as if he knows the number hasn’t really cut-it - and that’s what you get here. It’s an inauspicious opening.

XX Teens sound like lots of bands in snatches, but no one in particular, and this is certainly one of their more endearing features. B-54 manages to combine the bleakness of early New Order, and this time Cash’s vocal echoes Mark E Smith. Again though the end product flatters to deceive. Round begins as if De La Soul have snuck into the studio, before XX Teens jump ship to Coventry and offer up the bastard son of Ghost Town by the Specials, all the while a smattering of unnerving screams pad out the sound.

Last year’s NME tracks of the year list found a place for the band in the form of single Darlin’ – a raucous shout-a-long, fusing Ramones guitars with a staccato brass line and there are meanderings into calypso too. It’s a bit messy (as is the case on with a  number of the offerings here) and it feels a bit like a work in progress, but there is enough correctly channelled energy to make it just about work.

The main problem with this record is that most songs have elements that are appealing, and they do manage to engage, but the end product isn’t quite there. Half baked would be a little harsh; maybe it’s more the case of too many cooks spoiling the broth – with such myriad ideas, most of the time the songs fall by the wayside.

Only You succeeds at being the great throwaway pop song that the band threaten to nail elsewhere. Its opening 30 seconds a complete ‘homage’ (ahem) to The Clash (I Fought The Law) and Springsteen (Born To Run), and it could easily be an old Buzzcocks tune, but nevertheless it’s perfectly enjoyable.

Before we finish there is just time for a 5-minute dirge entitled For Brian Haw. The final two minutes an extract from a speech by Parliament Square’s permanent peace protester. It seems a vain attempt by the band to tick the ‘politically driven’ box. They aren’t really fooling anyone.

XX Teens have a way to go before their imaginative aspirations can be fully realised. There’s just a bit too much going on throughout Welcome To Goon Island. Maybe the steady hand of a no-nonsense producer could shore things up for the band’s next foray into the studio. Their willingness to challenge the norm however means there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Release date: 28/07/08
Artist website: www.xxteens.co.uk
Label: Mute

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