Painting, Cooking Vinyl ***

Time hasn't made much of a mark on OCS – they're still as retro as ever, and they still have an unerring ear for a catchy, where-have-I-heard-that-before hook. Since their breakthrough with Moseley Shoals in 1996, the Brummie britpoppers have been ploughing the same psychedelic-pop furrow with such workmanlike craft that they could have called this album Painting and Decorating. They open it with an admission that they're not getting any younger (We Don't Look in the Mirror), then proceed to sound exactly like a bunch of 1960s dandies about to stride down Carnaby Street on their way to the UFO club. Sometimes it slips into pale imitation – If God Made Everyone gazes through The Who's Behind Blue Eyes – and sometimes the lyrics get a bit sketchy (viz Doodle Book). But you have to admire them for sticking to what they do best. oceancolourscene.com

Download tracks:We Don't Look in the Mirror; Painting; The Union