London three-piece Calva Louise presents their carbonated fizz fuelled debut ‘Rhinoceros’. Opening cut ‘I Hear A Cry’ is a thinly spread slice of reduced fat Grunge with some catchy bipidy bop chucked on top, it works. Next is the fuzz riff of ‘I’m Gonna Do Well’ which is complemented by some lollipop crunching female vocals before a speeded up Marr guitar lick the welcomes ‘Tug Of War’ to the anti-party.
‘No Hay’ rubs sleeper from blurry eyes while looking for the late-night Britpop lightswitch. An ironically retro ‘Getting Closer’ has a Catatonia quirkiness that’s hard not to be intrigued by while ‘Wondertale’ rollerskates across the cobblestones of 6music’s courtyard. ‘Cruel Girl’ pokes Punk in the eye with a dreamy stick of semi-conscious angst as the album draws to an all too soon conclusion. The acoustic opening on ‘Down The Stream’ highlights some goosebump-induce singing before the composition sits, stands and then sits again, alone in the corner of a deserted diner. Final track ‘Out Of Use’ slowly finds its balance before both the band and album surf off into the Glastonbury bound sunset.
CALVA LOUISE
RHINOCEROS
Modern Sky Records
8/10