(single/ EMI)
3rd Light rev their versatile musical worth in pole position already, here with three hugely varied and compelling tracks that turn you on and tune you in initially with �Movin� On� that�s fuelled fruitfully by an indefinable melting pot of influences and a ridiculously chilled and cunningly cool guise that harks back to the ambitious pop-based flamboyance of bands such as Pulp and Mansun.
From the futuristic retro indie disco-rock and jazz-quilted experimentalism (!) of the title track to �Never Ending Afternoon� requires one hell of a leap and call to suspend any disbelief that a band can sound so different in the space it takes for track 1 to end and track 2 to begin, as this well-rounded and upbeat tune steeped with a classic 60�s �Sha-la-la-la� pop-harmony, the life-affirming lyric �Relieve me from misery,� and later-in a cracking good guitar riff confirms the stead-fast fact that 3rd Light be the perfect support band for the similar-sounding Supergrass.
Even after that classy track it�s still the final, most rocking track �Running Around� that wields most brazen promise courtesy of a coarse bass-line, a heavy & scuzzy guitar riff and quick-fast beat. And they still have time to go off at tangents with their music and act all alternative and eccentric because they can. Because they clearly have the balls to be different, and an original sound that�s semi-alien.
4/5 (STEVE RUDD)