ALBUM REVIEW: iC1s 'In the Blink of an Eye'

With the demise of Beady Eye, Arctic Monkeys lost somewhere in the California desert and The Courteeners struggling for airplay, Kasabian stand as the remaining bastions of swaggering ladrock still capable of sending muddy fields into a giant beer soaked, bouncy cuddle. The terraces, pub jukeboxes and indie discos (not sure if any of these still exist) are crying out for a working class guitar band to swagger forth with a pile of reach-for-the-heavens indie anthems and a barrel load of cocksure confidence. Step forward Harrow boys iC1s to chance their arm at it.

Championed by Alan McGee and Libertines drummer Gary Powell, debut mini-album ‘In the Blink of an Eye’ is an injection of boisterous Britpop spirit that comes stomping and pogoing all over the current crop of pencil-thin, shoegazy, hairsprayed miserablists. Telling the tale of how heartbreak sent frontman Daniel Coburn “a little bit mentaaal”, lead track ‘Wack Jack’ is an instant indie pop, bouncealong classic, full of mockney-geezer Mike Skinner-isms and a gloriously catchy refrain. Not since The Fratellis ‘Chelsea, Chelsea-ed’ all over the airwaves has a chorus sounded so daft, playful and infectious.

‘Growing Up Going Down’ too races along to knees-up, pint in the air, guitar-pop joy, Levitate soars into a righteous, vein-pumping stadium filler and Beautiful Ugly opens up into a weepy, gospel power ballad. It’s an unashamed compilation of indie hits from 1996 that should come with a Kangol bucket hat and a vintage copy of Loaded magazine, but one even the most hardened muso snob should cut loose, swill ten pints of watery lager and mosh about at the front of sweaty club to.

Let the taste-makers sneer and roll their eyes, because this a boozy, knuckle dragging, post-match, night out soundtrack that remembers that rock and roll should be fun. And after recession, years of war, austerity and all those whiney Mumford, James Blake and Coldplay records, I think a fair few people are ready for a bit of that.

Kevin Irwin