What's Their Hypothesis?
Dubious band name spelling apart, this Leeds based combo have turned out a bright and breezy debut disk that brims with youthful enthusiasm and heartening chutzpah. Although not yet a year old, The Paradimes are so slick and professional you'd think they'd been making music for a good deal longer - and if this record is anything to go by, they will be.
Drummer Stuart Gibson and the fantastically named bass guitarist Shaun McMonagle (who I thought was a character from the Harry Potter books - not that I've read them you understand) form a tight, effervescent rhythm section, while guitarist Mike Mcwean and singer/guitarist Stephen O'Malley inject lively melodies and salubrious vocals to proceedings, creating a sound reminiscent of Iain Archer and Paddy Casey - but without the quasi angst.
Both 'Monkey Song' and B-side 'Banjo Song' (surely someone could come up with something inventive than that guys) are refreshingly lean and compact easy listening - no messing around with tricksy solos or muddy instrumentals here - and although they recede into memory as quickly as they did your shell-likes, their quality swiftly re-emerges when you hit the repeat button.
The Paradimes might not be making the most groundbreaking or original music around, but they're a more than competent bunch and well worth checking out live. Have a squint at their myspace page for more details.