TWISTED WHEEL
Briefly hyped after 2009’s self-titled debut album led to Oasis and Paul Weller support tours, singer Jonny Brown has since rivalled fellow Manc Mark E Smith for getting through band members: co-writer Harry Lavin is Twisted Wheel’s fifth bassist, Ben Robinson the fourth drummer. You can see why Brown perseveres and why Liam Gallagher remains a fan: on their first album since 2012, Twisted Wheel excel at primitive punk and, on Wheels Of Love, bring a supple Northern Soul backbeat to Brown’s manic vocals. The ballads are less successful, with Black And Blue and DNA sludgy AOR and the title track sub-Mondays waffle. They’re not reinventing the wheel, twisted or otherwise but, for deceptively simple adrenalised thrills, Brown deserves his Manchester cult figure status. Just don’t sign up to be in his rhythm section.