For reasons unknown to us, T-Shirt Weather state they would like to thank "the one and only Devin O'Leary". It was a name that meant nothing to me, but a quick internet search reveals that there's a student of medieval history from their hometown of Durham by that name, so we'll assume it's him. Well done Devin, you're currently enjoying your fifteen minutes of fame (or perhaps you'll become the new Lucy Worsley?) thanks to having the opening track of 'Pig Beach' named after you. It's a punky, no nonsense piece of indiepop that comes at you like a slightly less bookish Los Campesinos!, and brings in some strings and just a touch of brass towards the end, in an indication of what's to come.
Spiky riffs, hectic, snappy vocals and catchy melodies are very much the order of the day, but the horn sections used for 'Gum' and 'The Undersigned' make things a bit more interesting and aren't far away from Dexys Midnight Runners in sound, although the music in general is quite far removed, seemingly taking inspiration from the likes of Helen Love or something you might have heard John Peel playing in the mid '90s. It's difficult not to see a connection to the never ending punky indiepop scene in Glasgow too, and this comes through most of all on the scuzzed-up 'My Dad's Black Polo', especially in the vocals. It's really a song of two parts, changing towards the end to become a grungy rush with some soulful sax making an appearance as it breaks for a few moments.
Things get a bit more jaunty on the hooky 'Sometimes' which has some clever lyrics, before T-Shirt Weather drop the tempo for the downbeat 'Spaghetti Western (School Reunion Version)' which is a twangy and maudlin highlight and adds a different kind of atmosphere to the record, flirting with psychedelia at times. It's soon back to business as normal with the brass-flecked, shouty powerpop of 'When Your Heart' which brings in some Beach Boys harmonies later on, and they wrap things up with the crisp 'Losing You'. At around 25 minutes, 'Pig Beach' doesn't outstay its welcome and it contains some memorable tunes. Plus, it's heaps of fun, and that's never a bad thing.
T-Shirt Weather's website
Buy: 'Pig Beach'.
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