The Twang: 'Push The Ghosts'

The Twang have managed the peculiar task of being tipped as the 'next big things' and becoming the music press' whipping boys in the same year. Maybe it was the underwhelming nature of their debut LP Love It When I Feel Like This. Maybe it was the cliched tales of the gutter and laddish gloating that the Happy Mondays and Oasis have done to death over the years. Or maybe it was because they were a bunch of old men, wearing parkas, singing about love in harsh Brummie accents, which let's face it is never the coolest thing in the world.

The band's latest single is just as odd as their rise and fall. It's the usual baggy rock beats and Birmingham bravado, but this time they've funked up proceedings with a twisted Salt 'n' Pepa bassline and a host of disco grooves. For some bizarre reason Phil Etheridge's gruff vocal holler suits the pulsating rhythm more than their usual Happy Mondays-meets-The Streets offerings. Accompanied by their rather cracking cover of Bran Van 3000's too-often forgotten hit 'Drinking In LA', this single should prove a pleasant end to 2007 for The Twang boys.