:: Ted Leo and The Pharmacists - Shake The Sheets

Ted Leo and The Pharmacists

The pre-emptive indicator is resting firmly in the red zone, thanks to the brilliant cover art, the somewhat eccentric yet intriguing band name and the promising track titles. Song one delivers in full, and giddy excitement begins to take hold. It’s a slice of pop / rock perfection, and the desire to get up and dance feels more than necessary. Is it possible you’ve stumbled across something great? Track two leaves a little to be desired, but does little to curb the enthusiasm. Track three, four and five run along the same lines and you begin to get concerned. Six, seven and eight, not much better. You skip straight to the final track for an uplifting end that is sure re-ignite your excitement, only to find yourself disappointed and wondering how your initial reaction managed to dissipate so easily. For all intense purposes, Shake the Sheets is an album that has a lot to offer. It’s musical styling is unique, yet by no means so much so it would appeal to only the alternative few. As mentioned above it has killer cover art, interesting song titles, and lots of other little pieces that would make it appealing to many. Track one, Me and Mia, is an absolute stand out, and would sit comfortably in the top 20 if given a chance. Yet beyond all these elements there is a definite lag to the album. As though track one is repeated over and over again yet with less interest and gusto than the time previous. There are glimpses of hope here and there, and I’m sure that given the right time and right people to work with than Ted Leo and the Pharmacists would produce an album that could quite possibly dominate the world.