Murry the Hump

Cardiff's Murry the Hump is one of the only pop bands you will hear this year that begin a record with a Friendly Giant-ish harp and distorted guitar. Songs of Ignorance, the band's debut album, is such a delight to listen to that it becomes hard to cope when it ends with the lovely, acoustic "Vodka & Wine" a short 37 minutes later. Named after Al Capone's Welsh money laundering agent Murray, MTH writes stories with their songs that are not only catchy but also quite witty. "Colouring Book" is filled with some terrific slide guitar that makes for a nice alt-country moment. One of the more imaginative tunes on the record, its shining moment is vocalist Matt Evans singing "I dance in your room with just my underwear on, and it never felt this good before." With some influential nods to XTC and the Violent Femmes, MTH sure know how to make you feel wanted when they proclaim, "Booze and cigarettes go together like you and me do in sunny weather."