Whole Sky Monitor - Bland Bland Bland (Firebomb Radio) **** (From Bournemouth Echo)

Whole Sky Monitor - Bland Bland Bland (Firebomb Radio) ****

12:12pm Friday 14th December 2007

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FRONTED by John Parkes, Noel Gallagher's predecessor as Inspiral Carpets' guitar tech, Whole Sky Monitor sound like they've got a lot to get off their chest and they're going to do it as belligerently as possible. Angry northern songs are nothing new, but this lot manage to lace strains of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Big Audio Dynamite, The Fall, Wire, Gang of Four and Oasis without sounding like any of them.

Three Cheers For the Weirdo is a rollicking tale of prejudice, Harehills Chapeltown lays bare their home city, ditto the mangled humanity of Way Over Fourteen and Mary Moses, and the title track is classic York-shire disdain for the capital.

With post-punk agit-pop back on the agenda, WSM are shouting louder, angrier and far more eloquently than most.

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