A Thousand Heys Fat Cat ***

As Yuck and The Pains Of Being Pure at Heart have shown, revivalism never goes out of fashion. Like that pair, London/Manchester’s Mazes are also bewitched by the sounds that captivated US college rock in the early 1990s. In the case of Mazes, they follow the Pavement to scruffy pop heaven with superbly insistent and infectious fuzzy riffs which leave you in no doubt that their hearts (and record collections) are in the right place. This easy-on-the-ears mix of jingly, jaggy ennui comes with some hooksome tunes such as

Boxing Clever

,

Surf & Turf/Maths Tag

and

Summer Hits

, the latter having a strong whiff of Malkmus off it. It’s the kind of joyous riffing that you know won’t be in the band’s canon forever – sooner or later, they’re going to write a song which breaks the four-minute mark – so best to fill your boots while you can. See myspacecom/ mazesmazesmazes

Download tracks:  , Surf & Turf/Maths Tag Summer Hits