"They might hail from the idyllic Aberystwyth in the heart of West Wales, but Murry the Hump's Songs of Ignorance in no way evokes the whimsical, eccentric air of mysticism that hung in the air like sweet dope smoke around the debut records from Gorky's Zygotic Mynci or Super Furry Animals. No, despite a passion for the dynamic of glam rock and the occasional countrified slide guitar, this is a thoroughly modern, exceedingly British record--far more in the spirit of Pulp's "Do You Remember the First Time" than any wistful nostalgic foray into musical yesteryear. This is largely down to Murr... (+) expand

"They might hail from the idyllic Aberystwyth in the heart of West Wales, but Murry the Hump's Songs of Ignorance in no way evokes the whimsical, eccentric air of mysticism that hung in the air like sweet dope smoke around the debut records from Gorky's Zygotic Mynci or Super Furry Animals. No, despite a passion for the dynamic of glam rock and the occasional countrified slide guitar, this is a thoroughly modern, exceedingly British record--far more in the spirit of Pulp's "Do You Remember the First Time" than any wistful nostalgic foray into musical yesteryear. This is largely down to Murry the Hump's incredibly charismatic, exceedingly lanky lead singer Matt Evans--a songwriter with all the wry charm of his self-confessed lyrical hero, Hefner's Darren Hayman. Take the unashamedly sentimental love song "Booze and Cigarettes", which breaks hearts with beautifully simplistic allegory ("You fill my spleen with nicotine") or the slightly goofy charm of "Green Green Grass"--a song about scoring Class Bs with a helplessly grin-inducing opening couplet: "My dealer drives a three-wheeler / Lives in a house by the side of the sea". Thankfully, for all their arch-eyebrowed humour, Murry the Hump write such pretty, affecting music that it's no trial to take this glorious debut seriously. "Songs of Ignorance"? It's bliss. -- Louis Pattison (Amazon.co.uk Review) (-) collapse