The Middle East - Jesus Came To My Birthday Party

The Middle East’s new single is a compact little number at barely over three minutes; a sunny, guitar-driven duet, ‘Jesus Came To My Birthday Party’ (almost) betters Best Coast but can’t match the heights of Jenny & Johnny.

You might expect surf pop, since the band are from Australia and the country has some famously beautiful beaches, but it’s actually more cookie cutter, and annoyingly repetitive.

Disappointingly, ‘Jesus…’ is less interesting than the songs on The Middle East’s 2008 debut ‘The Recordings Of The Middle East’, like the seemingly Sigur Ros-inspired and inventive ‘Lonely’, or even the free-wheeling abandon of ‘Hunger Song’.