Idle Frets’ Facebook biography simply reads “CHOONS”. Well… er, yes! Quite. This Chester four-piece clearly know exactly what they’re doing and no surprise, considering they’re alumni of Paul ‘Thumbs’ McCartney’s prestigious LIPA institute. A cursory glance at some of their fellow Old Boys and Girls – The Zutons, Circa Waves, The Wombats to name a few – makes this hearty slice of meaty, passionate indie-rock assured in its construction and deliverance.
Front-Fret, Ben Davies, kickstarts ‘Glow’ with a yearning, wounded Passenger-esque vocal before transmogrifying into a roaring, ranting behemoth of a vox-monster. It almost resembles something akin to Van McCann on six cans of Monster with a freshly-stubbed toe. And then he goes right back again. It’s startling, exciting, and irresistibly catchy. When Davies spits “we’ve got a problem here / don’t mean to interfere” on the chorus refrain, you know he really does. The problem is a big one, and he’s going to be taking his beloved back come Hell or high water, thank you very much.
Musically, it’s all Sturm und Drang; sharp staccato gut-punch verses, twisting around maelstrom choruses peppered with hyper tensile organ glissando, bringing together sweet and bitter in an almighty explosion. And all the while, amidst the frenzy, all you’re thinking is “CHOON”. Smart kids, these. Mission accomplished, then.
