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The 22-20's clearly have the blues-lust of many of their white-boy UK predecessors, but tempered in this case with a dose of Detroit-style grit and at times the New York glam of the Velvet Underground. Which of course begs the question: why are the British bands so much better at evoking American sounds than Americans are?

 

What the 22-20's lack in years they certainly make up for in exuberance, and what they lack in lyric-writing skills, they make up in attitude. Straight blues songs like "Baby Brings Bad News" complement sexy rock songs ("Why Don't You Do It For Me" and "I'm The One") and dreamy psychedelic numbers with Lou Reed-esque vocals ("The Things That Lovers Do") keep the White Stripes comparisons at bay.

Their sass and sound belies the young age of this British four-piece, and their chosen genre and sound helps balance their often-clichéd lyrics—blues-rock, like film noir, thrives on the stock lines and characters. A young band wearing its influences on its sleeves could do a hell of a lot worse than this debut album.

www.astralwerks.com

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