Big Troubles – Romantic Comedy

New Jersey boys Big Troubles are bang on trend, sharing space with the likes of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and surf-pop darlings The Drums, taking inspiration from the eighties and nineties with a retrospective flavour of indie and synth-pop.  Though, whilst they’re in good company, debut album Romantic Comedy makes a fairly inauspicious start, with She Smiles for Pictures’ cut of jangly pop proving a little underwhelming.  

Reassuringly, the album's second offering Misery redresses the balance, delivered with a disaffected gloom, whilst the utterly enchanting, sad-eyed pop of You’ll Be Laughing and closer Never Mine significantly up the ante. Sadly, much of the remainder of Romantic Comedy simply provides padding around this clutch of top-rate tracks, with Big Troubles opting for a generally lighter touch; the diet-indie of Sad Girls and Make it Worse lower the tone across the piece. [Paul Neeson]