One Lady Owner

Alan McGee is a genius. Evidence for his sainthood includes Primal Scream, Teenage Fanclub, My Bloody Valentine and even Oasis. But he also has signed such uninspired bands as 3 Colours Red, Arnold and now he has added One Lady Owner to that list. Even a cursory listen to their car-obsessed first album, There’s Only We, shows a glimmer of potential — it isn’t hard to find the five songs that would make a stunning demo tape, but that still leaves six that just aren’t up to much at all. The best moments are those that follow a ‘60s garage template perfected by the Stooges or one of the many Nuggets bands — that dark, trashy guitar noise typified by “Wheelkings 1973” and the gloriously-titled “Police Car Sex.” But the main problem comes from a lack of experience — amidst a fervour to sign the band before anyone else could, McGee has done them an injustice by releasing an album before they had enough material to fill one.