The Naked And Famous - No Way

Having only heard their brilliant 2010 single, "Punching In A Dream", I was excited when I saw that The Naked And Famous had new material coming out this week. And while that song only got to number 139 in the UK singles chart, it did mark the New Zealand 5-piece as ones to watch in the indie scene.

"No Way" starts off in a sombre fashion, a slow-burning ballad that resembles an indie version of the Charlene Soraia/Slow Moving Millie prototype that's dominating the charts at the minute. Slowly plucked strings intertwine with tender female vocals and whilst it's fairly nice to listen to, I found myself getting bored by the minute mark.

Then bang! It explodes into life with crunching guitar riffs and pulsating beats. Within 30 seconds, it reverts back to its softer side, like a musical Jekyll & Hyde.

It would be incredibly exciting to listen to.... if the song weren't 5 and a half minutes in length. It overstays it's welcome as it repeats this same formula at least another 2 times. It becomes predictable and loses its dramatic effect.

On the whole, this is a very frustrating outing from a band I had high hopes for this year. It starts off very promisingly but fades into mediocrity during the overly long duration of the track.

Disappointing to say the least.


SMc