No Monster Club: People Are Weird | Album Review

Ah, the late '70s! What we recall most about that time was not the corporate commodification of the class of 1976, but the fact that punk's sidebar legacy was making sure some oddballs survived the cut. Dublin's No Monster Club adhere brilliantly to the studiously amateur-hour blueprint of one-finger keyboard playing, nursery rhyme-like lyrics, and the kind of tunefulness that makes a joke of so much contemporary pop music. It's almost as if main songwriter Bobby Aherne and his mates have time-slipped their way from Soho to Stoneybatter. With hints of Leighton Buzzards, Wreckless Eric and other post-punk indie no-hopers, People Are Weird may be in hock to its influences. But if there's a more charming album released this year, we'll listen to Emerson, Lake & Palmer for a full week. nomonsterclub.com