Well well..my last acquaintance with this band was for the review (posted 11/02/2012) of their iTunes Session EP, and as that was also the band's introduction to Concrete Web, I gave you a complete history of the band up to that point.
Since then, the guys released their 4th studio album Handwritten on the Mercury Records label in July 2012, and that label went on to release the EP's Hold You Up (Nov. 2012; 3 tracks) and Here Comes My Man (also Nov. 2012, but about a week later; 4 tracks...actually a re-worked version of Hold You Up, with the addition of one track off the Handwritten album), the first on vinyl, the second as a download-only. Then, the band's former label SideOneDummy re-issued (in June 2013) the 9 singles the band had released with them in a limited (only 2500 copies made) compilation box set entitled Singles Collection: 2008-2011. Mercury issued the band's Live In London DVD.
Now, SideOneDummy tries to cash in even more on their former signee with yet another compilation... Oh, is that too harsh a conclusion to draw? Well, let's just check what the goodies are you'd be putting your money down for, shall we? Album opener “She Loves You” is a semi-acoustic track which was featured on the b-side of the Once Upon A Time single, which is also found in the aforementioned singles box set. The ensuing acoustic version of “The '59 Sound” was the b-side of the Old White Lincoln single, from that same box. The band's cover of Pearl Jam's “State Of Love And Trust” was already found on the iTunes Sessions EP (and also as a b-side to the The '59 Sound single, from the box set), and their cover of Rolling Stones' “Tumbling Dice” was the b-side of the Stay Lucky single (see box set). The acoustic version of “The Queen Of Lower Chelsea” was on the backside of the The Spirit Of Jazz single (that box set again). “Songs For Teenagers” and the acoustic version of “Antonia Jane” are both covers (respectively of Fake Teenagers and Lightning Post), and the acoustic versions of “Great Expectations”, “American Slang” and “Boxer” were the b-sides of the singles by the same titles, all of which are also found in that box set! Finally, album closer “Once Upon A Time” (originally from Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise) is not a b-side at all, but an a-side of a single already mentioned, and yes, again from that box set!
Sum it all up, and the only “new” stuff on this album consists of two covers. Well, I'd call that somewhat of a rip-off! Also, I've always liked this band for its Punky / Rock sound, and I really don't see how a collection of washed-off songs (with a couple of exceptions the album is acoustic) is supposed to keep my interest in this band goin'. By the way, a new studio album should be under way (a start of writing new songs with a cited influence of Pearl Jam's No Code album was announced in July 2013)...now thàt is something I'm looking forward to!