The trouble with this reviewing lark is that, when you have to deal with hundreds of bands that sound virtually the same, you start to run out of words. This doesn't seem to be a problem for the bands, who manage to squeeze an unfeasible number of songs from the Coldplay whine-ballad template without hesitation, repetition or deviation (unless they're Coldplay themselves, of course). So if I sound somewhat jaded during the next paragraph or so, it's not because of the quality of The Conway Story's music (which is fine - I wouldn't waste my time reviewing it if it wasn't), but because I can't help feeling I'm repeating myself.

So I've mentioned Coldplay and that's essentially what you're getting here, albeit with a bit more oomph and less nauseating vocals, and without a tedious piano intro. 'Ghostwriter' presses all the indie ballad buttons, managing to be at once droning and anthemic, swelling at all the appropriate moments and delivering a memorable if meaningless refrain. It's a decent and well-crafted song, but I'm not sure it's inspiring enough to garner the mass appeal it seems to be clamouring for. By contrast, b-side 'Hopeless With Our Hands' is the full Chris Martin and is possibly more interesting for it. Quietly beautiful and contemplative, it trickles along over an electric piano backing and shows a more thoughful side to the band. There's probably an interesting album in The Conway Story, but they'll need to buck their ideas up on the singles front if they want to set the world on fire.