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Released: 5th April 2004.

The Servant is not a name to inspire images of the wonderful soundscapes that could be contained within that little shiny disc, so what exactly is it all about?

The moody but pleasant indie-pop opener, "Cells", answers this question without giving away too much, intriguing the listener with a hint of electronic jiggery-pokery. Not unlike Radiohead, yet differing in that Dan Black can actually pronounce his words without mumbling.

The obvious highlight is the summery jangle of "I Can Walk In Your Mind". Apart from being a runner-up to the single of the week in the NME, the potential hit, "Orchestra", went almost unnoticed when it was released in December 2003.

Peculiar lyrics seem to be very much the trend here. Whoever wrote "We eat Chinese off our knees" and "Like a rash on the back of a manky cat" is deserving of a medal for services to comedy. It's very much to their credit that such ridiculous lines do nothing to detract from the quality of the music.

It's nice to see that "Jesus Says" isn't a cover of the Ash song of the same title. Instead, it rolls along with a deep electronic vibe - imagine a military marching song performed Jamiroquai-style.

They may have an uninspiring name, but that's utterly irrelevant when the music is good enough to speak for itself.

(John M)

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