You’d be mistaken for thinking that Milburn are the latest Sheffield band to launch themselves in the wake of those pesky Arctic Monkeys. These Are the Facts is actually the second album from four youngsters (the oldest band member is 20). They are from Sheffield though, so it’s inevitable that the Monkeys will be involved somewhere. Sure enough, the Milburn boys are friends with Alex Turner and Co, and the band benefited from gigs with their far more famous pals in their ascent to a major label.

Like the Monkeys too, These Are the Facts is released just a year after their debut Well Well Well. It’s there that the positive associations end because generally, Milburn sound very similar to the Monkeys. Well, if the Monkeys were an average band and sounded like the bastard son of The Coral and The Zutons. If you want the facts, These Are the Facts consists mainly of a strange combination of ska/pop tunes spiked by melodies which are nice enough, but never quite hit the spot. 

Lead single ‘What Will You Do (When the Money Goes)?  is a case in point. A sprightly melody tinged with an urge to go totally reggae, singer Joe Carnall’s delivery comes straight from the Alex Turner School of Deadpan. Frankly it sounds as if Mr Turner has decided to go calypso. Not as bad as it sounds but given the choice between this and the actual Monkeys, it’s no contest. Worse, ‘Count to 10’ is so close to the Monkeys sound, it could actually be one of their b-sides.  

It’s not all bad. Tunes like ‘Summertime’, ‘Lucy Lovemenot’ and ‘Rubicon’ all have decent melodies which show that the band know their way around a tune. The problem is that a killer hook doesn’t show itself until ‘Genius and the Tramp’, the closing song. A slow burner which is far more melancholic than anything else on the album, it also has the best melody, an immediate hook and more importantly, is their own sound. It suggests that, if Milburn decide to ‘get off the bandwagon’, as a slightly more famous Sheffield band might say, there’s a future for them. 

(3/5)