Long Blondes collided at university in Sheffield. Despite this they manage to sound rather lively.

Cruelly ignored by the record industry for years (they were librarians until about 6 months ago), Rough Trade finally came to their rescue in 2006. So it's with mild apprehension that your reviewer greets this, their debut album (most of which has been available in demo form for months). It's a pleasure/relief then, to say that Songs To Drive You Home is pretty decent.

They've created something bitchy, venomous, sexy, yet still endearingly sweet throughout. You can't not think of the 80s synnthpop movement - indeed, album masterpiece 'Giddy Stratospheres' sounds like something Phil Oakey might have crawled out of - but what it really comes down to, is that you believe every word that leaves vocalist Kate Jackson's lips. Now how many other current singers - male or female - have that effect? (Matt Wilkinson)