Singles

The Long Blondes - Once And Never Again

Emily Tartanella 20/10/2006

Rating: 4/5

At this point, the Long Blondes could release a five-minute recording of a squirrel snoring and it would be proclaimed the height of art-rock fabulousness. And, knowing this band, it probably would be. The song is still further proof that everything The Long Blondes touch turns to brilliance, while the video reinforces this journalist's theory that singer Kate Jackson could wear a burlap sack and still be the sexiest woman in rock - Gwen Stefani has all the appeal of a burlesque drag queen by comparison.

This quivering slab of pitch-perfect rock may be slower than earlier versions, but it still provides a handy guide to the multitude of reasons why we utterly adore this Sheffield quintet: gleefully girlish vocals, classic kitchen-sink melodrama, stories about seducing young women - like the Ronettes gone lesbian, the Long Blondes promise to take you away from the boorish boy next door with an absolutely phenomenal soundtrack to accompany your getaway.

The pressure's on, boys and girls. If upcoming debut 'Someone to Drive You Home' doesn't set our teenage hearts a-flutter, there'll be weeping in the streets. But given The Blondes' track record, their future looks positively supernova.