Released 1/6/09 on 645 Records.

Imagine if Kings Of Leon, right after making Because Of The Times, had sat down and said, “Right, we’re not gonna do the melodic radio friendly crap that will result in us gaining a shitload of new fans and having an absolutely massive single. Instead, ska punkpop is the way of the future.” Also imagine that they were from West London and the lyricist schooled on Whatever People Say I Am… and Jamie T. You can stop imagining now, because we have The Ruskins. Its fun to imagine though, isn’t it?

 
They’ve already been championed by the likes of Steve Lamacq, XFM’s Steve Harris and the good old NME, so they seem to be making the right noises to the right people, and they inspired a stage invasion at Islington Academy. With all this hype, it’s hard to know where it went wrong.

 
Debut single 'Slow Down Jessica' is under two minutes long. The first two verses are ropey at best, with lyrics concerning my dad having your dad, puppy fat, and how minging someone’s mum is. It’s playground stuff. The third verse almost saves the song with a gently sweet lyric “I’ll take you for a ride with me/When I get my cycling proficiency.” It works in the context of forlorn affection, and it leaves you wondering what if the rest of the song had matched up to it. Musically it’s fine; there are no problems with that side of things.

 B side 'Don’t Be Silly Joe' is lyrically better overall, but it doesn’t have a hook that will stick in your gills, and is missing the one-liner of the previous. '6 For 5 Alive' is a bit too contrite. It still sounds alright, and really all the songs do. But the lyrics that attempt to be cheeky fall short on too many occasions. It’s a shame, because underneath is a solid band with effort that can’t be faulted. Maybe there is a reason why Jessica won’t slow down.

Posted In Single Reviews, May 21 2009. Words - Paul