Spector - Grey Shirt & Tie

Naming yourself after producer Phil Spector is a pretty ambitious starting point as new bands go, and Spector’s power-pop is shamelessly aiming for equally epic proportions. ‘Grey Shirt & Tie’ starts up with a croon of “If you want me, you better come and find me” along with solemn drums and over-dramatic synthesiser; and you may be forgiven for donning New Romantic quiffs and applying brightly coloured make-up with reckless abandon. Indeed, Spector do have a touch of the Spandau Ballet about them, and it’s hard to avoid the temptation to start howling “dancing with tears in my eyes” in an indulgent frenzy. Maybe it’s the ridiculous hyperbole in the lyrics, or maybe just the singer’s David Starkey-esque spectacles, but its also quite hard take Spector seriously.

With a nod in BBC’s Sound Of 2012, Spector are now going to feature on the radar, like it or not. With a front man drifting into Jarvis Cocker territory, and a nostalgic 80’s sound, people are beginning to take Spector extremely seriously indeed. Last year Hurts ‘did’ the New Romantic revival thing with the sharp suits and sort of, well, faded into obscurity after that one single ‘Wonderful Life’. It remains to be seen whether Spector’s ‘Grey Shirt & Tie’ will meet the same fate. It’s also inconclusive whether we’re dealing with another band of pretentious twats, or whether Spector actually have something special. ‘Grey Shirt & Tie’ is not dreadful; in fact it’s really very catchy - it just doesn’t quite make enough of a lasting impact to answer any doubts.