This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
The Music are the new darlings of the U.K. music press, who have dubbed them “the band that’s going to change everything.” That kind of hyperbolic slavering isn’t news. But here’s what is: This time, the Brits just might be on to something.
If there’s ever been a band that deserves the hype — and just might live up to the supreme audacity of their name — it’s these lads. Officially, they hail from Leeds. But on their incredible self-titled debut album, their musical influences come from far and wide. First and foremost, there’s the bluesy guitar-rock swagger of Led Zeppelin and the psychedelic rebellion of the Madchester scene — a bizarre gene-splice if there ever was one.
But there’s also the groovecentric vibe of acid-house, the electronic artiness of Chemical Brothers, the cocky Britrock of Oasis, the mature craftsmanship of U2 and even the nasal vocals of Geddy Lee. And on lengthy, freewheeling cuts like The Dance, The People, Disco and Take The Long Road And Walk It, all these elements and influences co-exist like a club crowd on E, sensually rubbing and bumping up against each other as they move in unison, pushing the driving, hypnotic grooves upward and outward into trippy waves of Echoplexed guitars and swirls of knob-twiddling effects, only to be brought back to the here and now by singer Robert Harvey’s shamanistic yelping. Just to make it slightly more stunning, most of them are still in their teens.
No, The Music may not change everything. But give them the chance and they just might change the face of Britrock.
