Singles

The Courteeners - What Took You So Long?

Ross Cunningham 14/01/2008

Rating: 1.5/5

The new Manchester Indie elite for the year ahead seems to be "The Courteeners". Being backed to the hilt by the NME and receiving plenty of exposure on MTV2 there's not really any question that they are going to have a big year in 2008. "What Took You So Long?" is the bands third single and follows suit with their other releases. A driving drum beat a Libertines-esque guitar sound and a few sing-along lyrics that will sadly be enough to guarantee them a place in the heart of many a music fan in the UK.

The trouble is this is one of those tracks that has an infectious little hook that will get toes tapping and have you drumming along on your desk. It will undoubtedly do really well and get plenty of radio play, but have the band really got anything original to say?; Do they need to?. Fans of "The Enemy" and "The Twang" will lap it up and wait with baited breath for the album to be released.

The main problem I have with this single is when lead singer Liam Fray exclaims "Do you know who I am, I'm like a Morrissey with some strings". This statement is quite clearly one of the most ridiculous things to come out of anyone's mouth this year. While previous single "Acrylic" contained the line "You're just like plasticine, being moulded into a libertine dream". It seems apparent that while talking about other bands trying to fill "The Libertines" shaped hole in the music scene that it is actually "The Courteeners" themselves who want to be thought of in this "bracket". I would be totally shocked if I found out that "The Courteeners" didn't used to all own red guardsmen jackets that they wore to their local Indie disco every week.

Not a terrible song but it's all been done before and to a much higher standard, Listen to "Dogs" or "The Paddingtons" instead.

"What Took You So Long?" is released on the 14th of January

Watch the video here.