The press pack for this album claims it’s “ground-breaking”. That statement is terribly wide of the mark. ‘Ants and Stars’ may have created a ripple of interest in the early ‘90s, but certainly not in this day and age.  That’s not to say the work of Joe Short or Kitrocket, the name that he puts his music out under, is without merit, it just isn’t going to lead to a musical revolution or define an era. Kids won’t form bands on the back of hearing this LP.

Cheeky lyrics, power chords and keyboard effects are the key elements that dominate this record. There are moments on the self–produced effort when you find yourself either mildly irked or tapping your feet relentlessly – but no minds are ever in danger of being blown.

She’s French is a tongue-in-cheek, upbeat fuzz-pop number that sets out the stall out very early. The automated rhythm on Business fits the subject matter perfectly, as it takes a potshot at the suits of multinationals. I Don’t Know is quite similar in tempo and timbre and this is a common thread throughout, All Over The Place Wrong and Hanging Out are two in particular that fall into that same category.

Any Girl shows Crowded House up as an influence and Straight Line has you thinking of the under appreciated American songwriter Michael Penn. These are the stand out tracks and one wonders about the potential Short has as a writer if he is to follow this line of inquiry a little more, rather than the repetitive cheeky chappy pop which can grate when overcooked, as it does so often here.

Press releases claim all sorts of things from bigging up a band or artist’s new record as their ‘best in years’ to announcing ‘a return to form’, but to claim a record breaks new ground with absolutely no evidence or substance to back that statement up is something else entirely. Joe Short is a fine pop songwriter but Thom Yorke he is not. There are good moments but, for the most part, it is largely underwhelming. This is way more Semisonic or Weezer than it is Radiohead.