The Open: Statues

TWO years on from their commercially indifferent debut The Silent Hours, Liverpool-based outfit The Open are back. But before you write them off as indie no-hopers, spare an ear for a moment. When Steven Bayley s cotton-enriched whine collides with a bit

TWO years on from their commercially indifferent debut The Silent Hours, Liverpool-based outfit The Open are back.

But before you write them off as indie no-hopers, spare an ear for a moment.

When Steven Bayley's cotton-enriched whine collides with a bit of a tune, things don't sound too bad.

You wouldn't be surprised to hear We Can Never Say Goodbye or Lovers In The Rain on a Doves b-side, for example.

The latter is more interesting, incorporating some jazzy trumpet improv on the fade-out.

The stand-out is Forever, a delicate, dreamy seven-minute opus garnished with trumpet and piano, which goes nowhere but sounds inspired next to its largely forgettable companions. 2/5