Embrooks

Our New Day is like discovering a long lost, previously unreleased companion to The Who Sell Out - one that's even meatier and rawer than its better known sibling. The British trio clang and bang through a dozen '60s inflected tracks that sound as if they just rolled in off Carnaby Street. Bassist Mole Lambert nonchalantly tosses off melodic bass lines that would make even John Entwistle smile (and he has the sideburns to match), while drummer Lois thrashes in a perfectly co-ordinated approximation of chaos that makes you miss Moonie. Al Cozzi Lepri churns out meaty, yet melodically hooky chords with just a smidgen of feedback to ensure that they never become cloying. The songs have hooks up the yin-yang and even the goofiest moments are sublime. There are instants that recall the Yardbirds, Small Faces and Manfred Mann, but the goofy do-do's of "Helen" will have you looking around for a certain Sloan-y guy named Murphy. And while the songs and even the production sound like mid-'60s Brit Invasion madness, there's an undeniable edge to it that's completely contemporary. They never succumb to Gallagher-esque animatronic musical necromancy either - the songs have the feeling of old Brit Invasion faves, but they don't actually sound like any particular pre-existing songs and never sink to mere rewrites or derivative rehashings. That they manage to pull it off without getting smirky or ironically nudge-nudge-wink-wink may be the greatest achievement.