"They're going too fast / They're going too fast / You've fallen behind"

('Casualty')

Two tracks into their debut LP, Hertfordshire quartet Look See Proof hit the nail firmly on its noggin. Timing is absolutely critical in music, isn't it? Zeitgeist: great sounding word (go on, try saying it... satisfying, huh?), albeit one used and abused by agenda-setting journos everywhere, but totally, utterly relevant when talking about Look See Proof's debut album.

Had Between Here And There dropped three or four years ago, we might have been talking about a fresh, exciting new band with several potential crossover hits on their collective hand, but now? Commercial appeal or not - since when was that ever a true barometer of quality? - it's a sound that's worn severely thin on these ears.

It is, after all, a copy of a copy of a copy. Gang Of Four/Josef K abrasive guitars twinned with plentiful harmonies and urch-rock charm? You'll be wanting The Maccabees' LP. That is, of course, assuming you didn't wear out the first Futureheads record; a more bookish, complicated and ultimately rewarding take on that formula, minus the Fred Perry. Like your guitar-slingers dressed in tweed do you, sir? Step this way, and meet Young Knives. Alternatively, take early Bloc Party, or Good Shoes, or... or...

You've actually got to feel a little bit sorry for Look See Proof - for one thing, they've toured with both The Twang and The Fratellis - because what they do isn't absolutely awful but just so, so uninspired. It's derivative to the point of parody and, even though it's still full of honesty and gusto (see: 'Discussions' and 'Start Again'), this is certainly a record to endure rather than enjoy.