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Saturday 26 September 2009

EP Review - The Just Joans/ The Smittens- Split - This is Fake DIY

Often when two things come together, the end result is something enhanced and something that already seemed perfect, suddenly appear even better. Think Those Crooked Vultures; the culmination of Dave Grohl, Josh Homme and Jon Paul Jones combining and utilising all their years of expertise and musical prowess to create one effortlessly brilliant supergroup.


And then there are the others. Much like when Walkers’ Crisps brought out Chicken Tikka Masala flavour crisps, the end result is something of a huge disappointment. Not only are both individually, at best, marginally enjoyable, but when forced into an unnatural proverbial blender; the taste is bitter in every sense.


The Just Joans and The Smittens fall into the latter category. The EP provides each band singing one of their own tracks, as well as covering one of the others in a hope that the Live Lounge style of production will inspire a new lease of life and exciting new version. Instead, the cutesy Scottish quintet’s Alphabeat inspired ‘ba- lit' be a lack of anything truly memorable on 'he sunshine exuding little set of ditties something endearing and fun, there seda-ba’s’ and high-pitched High School Musical happiness stirs feelings of nausea.


The Just Joan’s version of ‘Gin & Platonic’ sits better when the female vocals are non-existent but the overall feeling, as with all tracks, is that the self-indulgent joining of two groups of band buddies has overshadowed the actual compatibility or talent of combination.


Whilst fans of all-things-twee may indeed find this sunshine exuding little set of ditties something endearing and fun, there seems to be a lack of anything truly memorable on ‘Split’.

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