New York-based collective Theselah return with another excellent version of their take on alternative rock music. Their harmonies recall no less than The Beach Boys on a particularly moody trip, supported by superb guitar dynamics which revolve between quiet and loud at just the right times. The quiet ones recall Velvet Underground whereas their more hostile style points to the glories of My Bloody Valentine. Often-used influences they may be but it is rare that influences can be melded together into something both familiar and unique sounding. Though 'Nice International' falls short of perfection (the mix of guitar distortion and a disturbing recount of mispent youth in 'Trunk' and the indifferent instrumental 'O Mellow Syr' puts paid to that) there are about four or five excellent songs here which would cause many higher-profile alternative acts to hang their heads in shame. Glorious, lo-fi echo-laden melodies lie in 'Smoove' and 'Middle Of Summer', 'Kill Emo' and 'Red' fly the flag for fuzz-rock and 'Clever Douglas' moves between lullaby and frenzied guitar effects. Music of this standard surely deserves a wider audience.