Review of Idyll Intangible Album by Navvy
Review of Navvy's album 'Idyll Intangible' released through Angular Records on 23rd March 2009.
The Sheffield four piece Navvy bring us their debut album saying if we buy it we'll be 'guaranteed lots of dirty synths and jangly guitar for our money' and they're not wrong! Recorded on just eight days and using vintage synths, various types of percussion and a 12 string guitar, Idyll Intangible is somewhat of a triumph.
Describing themselves as 'pop combo' is a little misleading. Their music is stripped bare, frantic punk-pop with vocals to match. All except one song is under three minutes and they come at you at a galloping speed producing an energetic wall of sound. Opening with Navvy, a punchy number, the whole album has a real dirty garage-punk sound; scratchy, jerky guitar, the constant tinny drum machine and the heavy synths produce a sound that would have not been out of place in the late 70s, yet sits perfectly in today's scene.
Vocally, Keith Jones and Claire Hill highlight this, giving us those real retro post-punk style vocals. These made more interesting by the almost conversational call/reply aspect, no more so than in Letters 'I sent you letters. I sent them back', you get the picture. Idyll Intangible is a brilliant work of raw, erratic punk-pop and there is not one song that lets the album down.
Rating: 8/10
Robyn Burrows
