Boutros Bubba - National Anthems

Who would have thought the Dutch could be such a cynical bunch? National Anthems is the skewed, angular, sarcastic outpouring of three gifted and apparently rather nihilistic patrons of that land where, some say, anything goes. Immediately grabbing you by the shoulders and ensuring it has your undivided attention, the album opens with the brilliant Chew. Staccato instrumentation ploughs through the opening refrain before giving way to a winding verse of sneering atonality. Such urgency is offset by the Pavement-infused Flip Coins which nonchalantly swaggers and swings its way through some catchy alt-pop. A Black And White Christmas is Jesus Lizard to the nth degree as drawled words slowly tie themselves round shifting keys. Likewise Actor/Director goes every direction except the one you might expect, but the effect is thrilling, sounding like a collision between our own Super Adventure Club and US Maple.