This Et Al - Baby Machine

Baby Machine is an interesting effort and most certainly a grower. This Et Al, like the Arctic Monkeys, come from Sheffield and like their fellow county-men they touch base with the all-too-familiar livelihood of the 9-5 weekend warrior. The delivery, however, is worlds apart. The spiky rhythm guitar plays off the heavily delayed lead, with the rhythm section itself constantly changing position of attack to great effect. The soaring double-tracked vocals lead to a striking similarity with former MTV2 favourites The Stills. If you enjoyed that lot then there's little doubt that This Et Al may fill the void they left in your collection. On first impulse, the overall sound appears a little dated but emotive cuts like The Loveliest Alarm soon enough indicate that this is nevertheless a solid album with plentiful signs of considered writing. [David Coyle]