Having never heard The Cheek before, a decision was made to check out their myspace page to find out a bit about them. The only description available there states that the band “are the guys with no lips and no hips”. After this disappointment I gave up trying and decided to listen to ‘Hung Up’, which didn’t really help matters. It isn’t offensive to the ears, but it definitely isn’t a work of brilliance. For starters the lead singer is lacking passion, seeming to be influenced by Johnny Rotten but without the attitude, and a dash of Alex Turner without the heavy accent. The song picks up after the first chorus but there’s still the feeling that The Cheek were holding back on something there. In the words of Scroobius Pip, ‘Thou shalt not make repetitive generic music’.

Released 9th November 2009 on A&M Records

Words by Alex Drake