is perhaps not quite an "official" debut album in that it compiles the singles have released thus far, paving the way for their proper debut, but plenty of bands have started out exactly the same way, and it's as enthralling an introduction to the young British band's kaleidoscopic beard-rock world as anyone could want. It's impossible to talk about without discussing its obvious antecedents, just as it's impossible to assess early recordings without mentioning the blues roster. basically sound like s wet-dream band circa 1970, as they appear to have soaked up all manner of late-'60s/early-'70s psych, folk-rock, proto-prog, and blues-rock influences. , , the , early (pre-prog) , and the quirkier side of seem to be the most obvious touchstones, but making one's way through is like thumbing through the battered vinyl collection of your weird uncle with the long, gray hair who still talks about following around in 1971; one moment there's a stuttering guitar lick that screams early , the next there's a stately romp that could have fallen out of the back of the van during their tour, and enough backwards guitars and tootling flutes to fill 50 psych-folk samplers. It should be noted that seem not to have shied away from these types of references, either. The Rock Journalism 101 cliche is to say that a band like this assimilates the lessons of the past and pumps them out in a way that's distinctly "today," but that's not exactly the case. While the music of is undeniably vibrant, vital, and visceral, it does not attempt to put any modern (or post-modern) spin on its building blocks; rather, it embraces all the aforementioned influences and moves out into the world as a living, breathing, very natural extension of them. Who could ask for anything more? ~ J. Allen