Ballboy – I Worked On The Ships

Ballboy must be sick of living on the edge. Since 2001, the Edinburgh quartet have established a cult-like following – the late John Peel was a staunch advocate of their jaunty twee-isms – without ever striding into the public’s conscience. It’s unsurprising then to find that album number five, I Worked On The Ships, looks set to continue the group’s trend of garnering chin-stroking acclamation. That’s not to say this is a disastrous record, far from it. Cuts like The Guide To The Short Wave Radio and A Relatively Famous Victory are beatific paeans, shivering with introspection and gushing melody. Yet for all the heart fluttered grace We Can Leap Buildings And Rivers' happy-clapping pop brings, this delicious long-player will merely rekindle wanting desire in long-term lovers, never eliciting the advances of fresher faced admirers. One day Ballboy may finally make their move but, for now at least, the periphery’s all they’ve got. [Billy Hamilton]