A couple of weekends ago Leeds group
City Yelps inaugurated the
7th Annual Nottingham Pop Alldayer at The Maze and they were utterly glorious. Within minutes I was sold on their sparky fusion of the inspirational 70s pop of the
Swell Maps/
Modern Lovers with
Parquet Courts-style 2000s DIY. A poster above the merch table advertising their self-released
“Cheap Psych” tape – only 3 quid! - proudly boasted of
“10 Songs, 2 Chords”. Only a fool would resist.
Across a remarkably consistent set of songs there's a cascade of instantly lovable guitar lines, vocals caked in rodeo announcer Tannoy reverb and a raft of drums battered with glee (see opener, “Psych On The Cheap”)
. The final song,
“Veterinary Centre”, is maybe my favourite of the bunch; a great live cut with the winning feel of a
VU Quine tape, its ominous intro suggesting something cataclysmic to follow:
City Yelps' submission for the
Odd Box Singles Club (Vol. 2 #4) was released in August and is also well worth firing up Paypal for.
