Fur - Fur

Many young bands of recent years have tried to hark back to the golden dawn of pop songwriting, when mop-tops were de rigeur and jangling coos about luurrrve were the order of the day, but few have managed to do it quite as convincingly as Brighton quartet FUR on their self-titled debut. From the lilting eyelash-flutter of ‘Him and Her’ to the cheeky caper of ‘Angel Eyes’, the whole thing is a throwback to ‘Please Please Me’-era Beatles, served up with a croon (courtesy of singer Murray) born to soundtrack a ’60s prom. Are the ’00s indie influences the band claim particularly noticeable? Maybe there’s a tiny hint of a Cribs softy moment (‘It Was Only Love’ et al) nestled in there. But who gives a shit if ‘FUR’ isn’t particularly forward-thinking when it’s a pure, twinkle-eyed joy from start to finish.