Album Review

The Chemists – A Love Like No-One Else

• 12th Jul 2009

A rustic bite is polished off by sharp pop beats and gliding indie guitar pushes, as leader of The Chemists light dance and churning indie experiment, Johnny Benn bears out yearning vocal heart, through latest A side ‘A Love Like No-One Else’.

It bemoans the power of significant others to dazzle and amaze. The focused, but foraging quintet slowly builds up the searching mood, using climbing guitars and heavy pulsing percussion to allow for both reflection and urgency.

B-side, ‘Sooner Or Later’, allows the dingy blues indie demon in them to take over. There’s the merest hint that The Gaslight Anthem could have a potential rival in the dusky Springsteen revering, country tainted stakes. Also, the itchy feet exposing lyrical edge that is delivered with echoing urgency and helped along by stammering percussion, is certainly a plus point in this subversive sub three minute jaunt;

“This place is getting tired I’ve slept for far too long, I think the f*@kers know,
the f*@kers know I’m right, I smash you to the floor like I did before.”

Despite the fact that their debut album still looms murkily on the horizon like The Black Pearl, this buzzing quintet are already earning a reputation for having a flitting range and lyrical bite. On the evidence so far, their debut album looks likely to continue this favourable trend.