KSCOPE
Ben Wardle
Back in the 90s, tracks such as Wide Open Space, Taxloss and She Makes My Nose Bleed were ‘indie floor-fillers’, and Mansun’s debut was stuffed with them. Deservedly, it spent almost half a year in the charts, eventually reaching No. 1. Not bad for a record which frontman Paul Draper referred to as “half a concept album” and which contains such unpromising titles as Dark Mavis, Stripper Vicar and The Chad Who Loved Me. What made it so successful – and why it still works – is Draper’s Beatles-esque way with a melody. After frequent hesitant starts, each song eventually emerges with at least one killer hook that you can’t shake. Kscope’s vinyl remaster is timely, too, as 1997 copies will set you back £70-plus. It’s a shame that the original’s inner-gatefold artwork and poster have not been reproduced but, hey, one listen to Attack… and any residual sour taste from Draper’s Nottingham meltdown of earlier this year will be banished forever.
VERDICT 8/10