Spring Offensive I Found Myself Smiling

This British 5-piece is flying well below the radar at the moment, but with a new album coming out this summer and a tour planned to promote it, I'd be surprised if more people aren't talking about them soon. Their seven track mini-album features strong vocals and intricate guitar work. Each song is dynamically performed with build ups and breakdowns galore. The occasional harmonies are tight and well placed. The percussion and rhythms (which include cowbell) were particularly engaging.

A particular high point of the album was a short snippet of the song "Everything Other Than This" that featured handclaps, the guitars gently playing off each other, and the vocals soaring across the entire composition. Be sure to pay special attention to the lyrics with this group. They don't hit you over the head with any sing-alongs, but the imagery and stories are impressive.

The group seems to be especially proud of the way their songs get loud, soft, and loud again, but I haven't been converted quite yet. The structures of the songs can get melodramatic and predictable very fast. The buildups and drops similar to their Oxford neighbors Foals are intriguing, but more frequently the structures were uncomfortably similar to Long Island drama queens Taking Back Sunday.

Spring Offensive looks to be a band to see live, which is convenient since they'll be hitting the road at the end of July. Their newest album, "The First of Many Dreams about Monsters," is set to come out in July. If the songwriting is strong and the album gets a boost in production quality, the new album could be a shining gem for the summer of 2010.