I don't know a great deal about Looner. With no biog or press release I can't regale you with the usual insights and potential slights. I could probably visit their website but it seems an awful effort. Well, at least they sent me a "crack and peel super permanent" sticker of their low impact logo in all it's grey sans serif text glory...

Anyway, onto the music. 'thefirstfive' presents, oddly enough, six tracks from a group that features at least one boy and one girl. The style is reflectivethoughtful, largely acoustic, pop backed by an unobtrusive drum machine and incidental strings. Think Aqualung fronted by Chris Martin and the lead singer of Dubstar, at their best when singing together. The final two tracks break away from the reflection and resignation to bring us more forceful drums and overdriven guitars with a style more in tune with PJ Harvey's rockier moments or The Breeders. This is where they really shine, the momentum and passion underpinned by strong tunes and production.

Clearly a personal recording and a bit of a project judging by the effort put into the recording there's no doubting the care and attention that has gone into 'thefirstfive'. Starting out nice yet uninspired Looner escape death by indifference through their later tracks. It will be interesting to see how they develop.