Reverend and the Makers: 'Bandits'

We'd imagine being best mates with the biggest rock band in Britain is pretty useful. They'd get you into gigs, give you the pick of the groupies backstage, and you'd probably get to meet a few low-rate celebrities along the way. But what happens when you get sick of hanging about in the shadows? That's the dilemma that's faced Jon McClure – Arctic Monkeys' best mate - since he launched Reverend and The Makers in 2007. As the band release the fourth single from their State Of Things LP, the jury's still out as to whether they're a great band in their own right, or merely the musical equivalent of celebrity ligger Peaches Geldof.

'Bandits' is a warning shot for folk who like to spend their evenings trying their luck on the nation's fruit machines. It works on one level as a simple pop song, with the bleeps and fizzes of pub bandits adding some frivolous fun to McClure's observational poetry, but - as with all the Reverend's tunes - there's a higher ambition at work here. The vocal exchange between McClure and keyboardist Laura Manuel – with Manuel complaining: "We need the money, we got bills to pay, don't get drunk and make sure you're not late" - reveals a slightly gritty and disturbing underbelly to this otherwise nonchalant pop track. Whether this sort of social commentary is enough to turn the Makers into stars remains to be seen, but it proves they won't be disappearing without a fight.