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Ok, so it sounds like Jesus and Mary Chain. And it really sounds like Slowdive. But this is one of the greatest debut singles I've heard in a long time: flushes of drenched distortion flowing over soft, fuzzy vocals and stuttering keyboard chords. Audio shots of broken-wave radio samples peaking in and out between flashes of white noise. The B-side, We Would Fall Against The Tide, is equally beautiful. A calm, yet strangely contagious    wash of repetitive keyboard riffs are harnessed by delicate guitar parts, and a use of effects pedals that is (for once) used for effect, rather than to overload. Libeling is an unashamed wink to The Radio Department's shoegazing influences, but is so alive and sparkling with loveliness that it wins hands down over simple nostalgia.

Mia Clarke
June-July 2003

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