Sergeant

NME once described this jolly gang of teenage indie-pups as 'the most exciting band in Scotland'. At first this seemed like quite a bold shout. Glasvegas had just begun their long journey to the top and The View still seemed set on destroying, drinking and snorting anything in their path. Scotland was flourishing in the rock and roll world, and after chatting to Kieren Webster from the View of their recent tour he assured me that local bands like The Law were also destined for great things.

Since this statement, however, Sergeant have gone a little quiet. It's not irregular for this to happen, I mean, how many bands have we seen set for the mystical rock and roll fairytale only to fall flat on the face of their shoddy debut effort that promised everything and delivered nothing. The odd thing here though, is this is not the case for Sergeant. After the release of 'K-OK' they didn't stop. April saw the release of their second single 'Sunshine' followed by 'Swiftly Does It' and more recently 'Counting Down The Days' which was released on their own label, Shy Recordings.

Now, while The View are far from manic depressives the chirpy jingle-jangle of Sergeant makes them look like funeral directors. 'Sunshine' was an exploding bowl of sweet loveliness in which Nick Mercer's yappy little vocals squeezed all the happy-go-lucky juice from your now-slightly-better-day. Youthful and optimistic, the La's-esqe twinkle of this song looked on life in a positive way - be happy with what you got and live your life to its full potential is the general idea, except in a more sincere and poetic manor that at no point sounds like the dying teen-hood of a pub drunk who had it all and lost it.

The most recent Sergeant drop of poppy goodness comes in the form of 'Counting Down The Days'. Released earlier this month their fourth single sees Mercers vocals sound a little less Scottish and a bit more Scouse but really doesn't bother me. He's got a catchy and tuneful gob and he's more than capable of penning a tip-top pop song, so this combined with flashes of The Coral and Lee Mavers genius, they could become quite the sensation.

'Away With The Fairies' is an unreleased track that will appear on the bands debut album later this year - I think! It's a delicate, homely blossoming bubble of lovable and innocent lyrics. 'You know you got a problem, when you show no signs of stopping, and you end up in the kitchen sink' sings Mercer. It's the sort of teenage escapist skit that sees you day dream the day away.

I'm excited about the album, as should you be, because I think the joyful spark of Sergeant is about to really catch fire!

Download sergeant - Away With The Fairies