The M's Future Women by: Tom Bradbury Wed:19-Dec-07 Label: Polyvinyl Year: 2007 WB rating 62 out of 100

It’s not always a good idea to listen to new music in the car, particularly in mine as the sound system is abysmal to say the least. I don’t think 1981 Mazda 323’s were ever built with audiophiles in mind, but whatever quality the car’s speakers may have once had has been eroded by time and a fair amount on abuse. One thing in-car listening does do though is test out a band’s ability to strike you and make you sit up and pay attention. If something is really great, your mind will wander from the task at hand – driving, and generally trying not to cause an accident. I am sure that I’m not the only person guilty of creating a traffic hazard due to gleeful distraction. Yet even after having the album in my car for quite a few substantial journeys, The M’s Future Women has still failed to make any major impression, and never once was I in any sort of danger of driving off the road.

The M’s have some finely crafted tunes, and their new album has the distinct sheen of professionalism, but unfortunately innocuousness plagues it to a major degree. The M’s suffer from what I would refer to as the “almost” melody disorder. Their songs are almost catchy, but there is just something missing. ‘Shawnee Dupree’ for example, has a chorus of unison vocals, whose silky smooth texture promises a resolution that is never delivered.

More than anything else though, you can’t escape the feeling that you have heard all this somewhere before. The M’s play a relaxed band of T Rex-style glam rock, complete with all the bells chimes and strings you would expect from such a group. ‘The Sun’ is fairly indicative of their sound – mid tempo, dirtily distorted and thoroughly unmemorable. The M’s vocalist simply isn’t suited to this style of music – he’s going for Marc Bolan, but he doesn’t quite have the raw sexiness to pull it off. Instead, the man just sounds as if he needs a good night’s sleep. I guess there is a fine line between sultry and dozy.

Misplaced energy is definitely a problem for The M’s but there are moments on Future Women where, even though they might not turn your attention from the road, they succeed in inducing a sort of dreamy reverie (which of course carries its own risks when you are driving). The folky ‘Light I Love’ sees the band settle into a groove that suits them well, with charming strings wrapping casual harmonica in a warm embrace – pity it’s such a short track. Afterwards, it’s straight back to glam rock.

The M’s are not an untalented band, but they are ploughing the wrong field. Their skills would be much better lent to the brand of suave folk that they display on ‘Light I Love’ than the uninspired glam of ‘My Sun’. The positioning of these two tracks next to each other only serves to highlight this. I’ll take reverie over numbness any day of the week. Maybe it’s not a good idea to be completely focused on something else when you are driving, but is nice to have something to keep you awake if you are making the trip back from the pub at 3am.