The Coffee And TV Wreck - Better Than Your Friends

Thom Crang, the mastermind behind Cornish folk/indie act The Coffee And TV Wreck releases his latest EP, 'Better Than Your Friends' after honing his craft with two downloadable albums available via his myspace.

The five tracks on offer here, don't stray from acoustic territory, with guitar and vocals at the forefront, occassionally with group vocals, the use of tambourine and once or twice, the inclusion of a xylophone and for '44 and counting', drums. That is however, all that is needed for this lo-fi release, with the concentration on the emotion in both the lyrics and the way they are delivered.

'Trouble Adjusting', is a country sing-a-long, sparse and minimal it relies on its ability to make your head bounce from side to side with the rhythmic tambourine use and you singing along to the chorus line of "Threw all my money and my clothes, away". Its strength lies in that lyrically it is emotionally honest and perhaps even depressing, but musically, it doesn't take itself too seriously, touching upon a sound not too dissimilar to Conor Obersts latest works. 'Watching The World End', perhaps my favourite song on the EP, lyrically concentrating on a feeling of hopelessness with the chorus "You and me on a cliffs edge, watching the world end" as the backing vocals sway in and out, feels more diverse than the other tracks upon the EP, more haunting than emotional and very different to the influences Crang wears on his sleeve, freshening this release up nicely.

'Better Than Your Friends' isn't perhaps groundbreaking, treading on an inoffensive acoustic folk country and indie sound but unlike alot of signed acts that NME is currently dribbling over, Crang has managed to channel huge amounts of emotion into his music that we haven't heard since Noah And The Whale's First Spring. This along with a real nous for song writing, puts The Coffee And TV Wreck in a position where it would be a real shame if they were ignored.

4 / 5

The Coffee And TV Wreck