Lupen Crook & The Murderbirds - The Lost Belongings EP

Live, Lupen Crook and the Murderbirds are an enjoyable romp of eclectic London-esque sounds married to lively fiddles and melodies. Sadly this live energy doesn’t seem to have translated well onto their latest release, a five track EP released through the band’s own Beast Reality imprint.

Opening track ‘Lest We Connect The Crooked Family’ has a meandering melody that provides enough entertainment to see you through to the somewhat flat ‘Little Treasure’. Things pick up a bit with the skittish nature of ‘Scare Crows’, which sits somewhere along the lines of the Cure on a hot date with the Young Knives, only to be let down again by the predictable ‘Vices Manifest O’ - imagine floppy fringes, skinny jeans and Jarvis Cocker posing and you may get an idea of what we’re dealing with here. It’s a real shame, as the second half of the track settles down, backed by a resolute violin that helps to lift the song out of the murky blandness that dogs the CD.

What lets the team down is the general sense of being underwhelmed by their delivery, there are hints of real potential at the moments when the band play with a little more fire in their bellies, but the majority of the material on show here will help ensure that they remain the band that will always come on stage first.