Manchester Music Album Review ALBUM OF THE WEEK *****

The Twisted Wheel seem to have done impossibly well in the last year, but the truth is that they are maybe the hardest working band out there at the moment. A series of (high profile) tours and live dates, have somehow been squeezed in, between the recording of this album and the band’s quick succession of memorable singles. The superb attacking pop of “Lucy The Castle” is present , alongside “She’s A Weapon” and “You Stole The Sun”, but current single “We Are Us” provides a convincing example of the band’s versatility. Jonny Brown’s guitar work is the centrepiece, but without long time cohort Rick Lees on bass and the shotgun sharp drumming of Adam Clarke, it would be hard to picture anything as focussed as the material found here on their debut album. In a few words, their self titled album is potentially a collection of 11 hit singles. The punk of “Oh What Have You Done”, complete with snarls and the Damned’s Brian James styled guitar assaults, underpins the urgency and immediacy of their songs. Elsewhere there are small tributes to bands like the Arctic Monkeys and Oasis (“Strife”), but these are contained to specific moments with little more than a fleeting, tongue in cheek sense of respect. Whilst Brown and co are entirely consistent, there’s a whole range of material that revels in Mod culture and the free-wheeling, intelligent guitar posings of punk. Twisted Wheel take us on journeys that celebrate the sounds of The Jam tumbling through a set at the 100 Club in 1976. They also investigate a hidden taste for Manchester’s own rock and roll heritage, from the sounds of 60’s Irwell-beat, the underground guitars of Madchester’s summer of love, Northern Britpop and the still ringing echoes of the finest sounds of Burnage. Thankfully “Twisted Wheel” offers no indication at all that this is any kind of tribute of album, more a distillation of what makes a truly great guitar track. Brown is one of Manchester’s most talented guitarist since Squire, with a quivering energy that makes you wonder if he had ever studied under the great Wilco Johnson. There’s a pleasant cavalier twist to “Bouncing Bomb” which provides a rare acoustic moment. Album closure is left to “What’s Your Name”, a favourite from their original demo, that still glitters between melodic sways, even if it has been toughened up for the album sessions. “Twisted Wheel” is a typically northern album, yet so strong is the bands imprint that they have truthfully crafted a sound all of their own, with a direct, unfettered new wave punch and a compelling range of infectiously short but memorable tunes. It seems to have been a long time coming, even in the Wheel’s relatively short career, but their debut is worth every penny and every single minute of listening time. An important Mancunian album on any day. REVIEWED BY JA