This is Theremin’s first official release and forms this month’s single for the increasingly legendary Oxford label, Shifty Disco, who have introduced us to some cracking debuts from the likes of Dustball, Nought and the Unbelievable Truth. However, none of these bands have really had a great deal of success outside of Oxford and London. Perhaps Theremin can break this pattern.

Live, they’re unstoppable, a brutal whirlwind of emotions with a hint of beauty never far away. It’s a slight shame then that this single at best can only hint at this almost hypnotic power they can wield in your local venue. Leading track, ‘In The Barn’, with its chugging guitars and punchy production would sound perfect in the background on a sunny Sunday afternoon sat out in your back garden with a cool Stella. In other words, it’s good single material but it fails to hit the spot I know Theremin can.

The pleasant surprise comes when ‘Minor Planets’ creeps up on the stereo. With the benefit of the studio, the guitars and vocals have been layered up very nicely, snaking around each other like a pair of kites searing into the sky above a windswept beach. Or something.

I generally like this single. It’s a good, accomplished release, especially for a debut single. My gripe stems from the fact that I know they have better tracks such as ‘A Song For You’ and ‘All That Burns’. Perhaps they’re reserving those songs for the seemingly inevitable major label release that should hopefully see them revered on a level comparable to that of their Oxford predecessors, Radiohead, and not lumped in with the so called ‘new acoustic’ movement as this single occasionally threatens.