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Out now (See Monkey Do Monkey)
Cardiff-based indie rock combo who count among UK indie's finest hidden treasures.
Cardiff-based combo The Keys have too long been one of UK indie's best-kept secrets, despite a stack of high-profile admirers and origins in the ashes of the wonderful Murry The Hump.
Throughout 37 minutes of psych-pop wonderment, Bitten By Wolves draws on the late 1960s for inspiration but is so much more than a mere nostalgia trip, fusing elements of The Kinks, Spiritualized, Dylan, Can and more into an assured sound that is distinctly their own.
With an organic warmth and tape hiss aplenty, the band’s timeless melodic songwriting sensibilities are framed by instrumentation that ranges from combustible fuzztones to effortlessly pretty guitar lines courtesy of creative interplay between Gwion Rowlands and frontman Matthew Evans.
The Keys may be a cult concern for now, but there are more than enough hooks here to leave the bands in the heavyweight division of British guitar pop bruised, bloodied and embarrassed. Chris Vinnicombe
