Scouting For Girls: 'Elvis Ain't Dead'

It's amazing how far you can go with half a tune these days. With one mega-chorus and half a verse, Scouting For Girls have romped across the nation's airwaves and racked up some mighty impressive sales figures in the past 12 months. They could probably give Pete Doherty a few lessons in making wonky pop-rock hits, and their summer anthem 'She's So Lovely' was so catchy that it became one of the most irritating/successful anthems of '07, but the suspicion remains: are they merely one-hit indie wonders? Are they, and let's whisper it, this year's The Automatic?

'Elvis Ain't Dead' is their last stab at trying to proving otherwise, and it's out just in time to be slipped into yer Christmas stockings. But is it a stinking turkey or a bulging festive delight? Well, in all honesty, it's probably somewhere in-between. It's certainly not that PlayStation 3 game you've been pining for, but it's not a miserable-looking lump of coal either. With a sprinkling of cheeky keys and some swerving pop hooks, this tale of unrequited love is a cheap and tacky pleasure. Rather like eating a whole box of strawberry cremes on Christmas Eve, it's fun at the start, but after a while you'll regret it and feel a little bit dirty for gorging.