I’ve just read a review of The Drums album The Drums. For those of you unfamiliar with their oeuvre, they are what one might reasonably call “indie revival” (or, I suppose, C86+24). They do at least have the decency to be on an independent record label (Moshi Moshi). I gave them a listen and found myself skipping through the tracks on the Summertime EP at a rate of knots, so utterly familiar and uninteresting was the music it contained.

I’ll admit, I quite liked the first track. It reminded me of The Jesus And Mary Chain’s Psychocandy, an album I recently rediscovered and consider one of my favourite of all time. Problem is, I then started comparing the two, and the revivalists really didn’t stack up. They seemed a pallid imitation of bands that were by their nature fairly pallid to start with. While the original indie bands were sort of reacting against the excesses of hair metal, the modern crop seem to treat the poor production and naïve lyrics as holy ordinances which they duly replicate.

I realise that I’m coming across as rather po-faced here. There are bands that I like which are firmly in the revivalist vein: The Datsuns, some of the 80s revival acts (Ladyhawke, The Bravery). I’m not entirely sure why The Drums in particular rile me so much. It’s maybe that my musical sensibility has grown out of that Indie scene: a rehash feels like short shrift. Perhaps I’m being a bit precious. In any case, I’d rather have my retro-tinged listening augmented with something new and interesting. For that, I recommend Fits by White Denim or Merriweather Post Pavilion by Animal Collective.

Last.fm links:

• The Drums Summertime EP
• The Jesus and Mary Chain Psychocandy
• The Datsuns The Datsuns
• Ladyhawke Ladyhawke
• The Bravery The Bravery
• White Denim Fits