The Old Romantic Killer Band The Swan With Two Necks

With the emergence of artists as diverse as the Dodos, No Age and even Flight of the Conchords, 2008 has been particularly kind to the concept of ‘the duo’. Unfortunately for the Old Romantic Killer Band, 2008 is all but over. As we all turn our attention to the imminent delights promised by 2009, the debut album from this young Leeds band is about as fresh as a pint of warm, stale lager.

The aim of the Old Romantic Killer Band is clearly to fuse bluesy guitar riffs with punk rhythms. In the live setting, at least, this works reasonably well, but the lack of variety on record is truly stifling. Taken individually, tracks like Girl, You Have All The Fun, Lovers Pass and Things to Come are all respectable enough efforts, but in the context of the album – which at 22-minutes is hardly an epic – they seem to coalesce into one stodgy, unappetising whole.

The tinny production job is partially culpable here, but I think The Swan With Two Necks’ failure ultimately lies with the band’s refusal to broaden its horizons or, at the very least, embrace its limitations.