The Futureheads - Skip To The End Single Review

The Futureheads
Skip To The End
Single Review

Jerky guitars? Check.

Mackem inflected vocals that occasionally veer towards shouting? Check.

Idiosyncratic backing vocals? Check

Hmm, I think what we have here is a Futureheads single. But don't let my pithy introduction give you a false impression, Skip To The End is not a rehash of Decent Days and Nights or Carnival Kids, it's just that out of all the cuts from their forthcoming LP, News and Tributes, this one is the most familiar.

The XTC influences are still intact here, only now the guitars are a bit more rounded, and the vocals have a warmth that was conspicuous in its absence on their eponymous debut. This is the sound of a band maturing. Although on first listen, Skip To The End might not seem like an obvious choice of single, it doesn't have the pneumatic drill hooks of the aforementioned Decent Days and Nights, but after a few attempts, you will no doubt feel its warm, comfortable niceness, a bit like a breaking in a new pair of slippers.

Ben Davis