The statement of intent is first and foremost the process of recording: live one takes to tape in 5 days (no pro-tools or any other soul-sapping equipment to be found here) - any songs that featured duets were recorded with everyone hunching around the same microphone. 16 songs in under half an hour - the A.D.D. approach where those of you who appreciate 'craftsmanship' in their music (ha ha ha you idiots!) will only want to scream "SOMEONE GIVE THESE GUYS SOME RITOLIN!!!"

But as infuriating as it can occasionally be ("The Most Fun" starts building to what could have been a magical chorus, but instead simply stops after 90 seconds), all I keep thinking about is 'at least it's not a Coldplay album that took 2 years to make to suck the life out of.
For the one thing this album has in spades is CHARM. Whether it's the cute but menacing covers of Johnny Cash's "Jackson" or The Jesus and Mary Chain's "Sometimes Always" (a highlight), or the truly pointless songs like "Comma Comma Comma Full Stop" which lasts 5 seconds (and those are the entire songwords as well) it's hard not to love it for all it's faults.
First single "Pick Up the Phone" (another highlight) lasts 30 seconds and sounds like a b-side straight from 1977. Mind you it lasts an eternity compared to "Cheney" whose 7 seconds consist of a bunch of drunk fools shouting 'cheney cheney cheney cheney stop being such a dick!'.

Poetry? Main man Eamon Hamilton is best known as part of the reserved bookishness of British Sea Power - and compared to them Brakes are little more than snotty council estate brats throwing rocks at the music industry.

Or are they? Second single "All Night Party Disco" points to a real future for the band after catchy debut record, and resurrects a sound I haven't heard since the first few Cornershop albums - tounge in cheek punk rock glammed right up - a sound that also comes through in The Go! Team who, conveniently (?) also come from Brighton.
Note to the NME - maybe it's time to jump on it and call it a 'scene'?