Hailing from the Dublin, home of Irish rock 'n' roll; spring the latest fresh-faced Irish indie pop sensations, the quaintly named Heritage Centre. This hard working band has already released a single at the tail end of last year as well as an EP, The City, The Tree and The Fox, in February. They are now following up the success of these releases with a new single entitled 'I Will Protect You’.
While their website claims comparison to such luminaries as Weezer and Blur, I don't hear it myself. For me, Heritage Centre's sound is more reminiscent of the guitar-driven indie rock of Idlewild, only more Irish, obviously.

The title track opens with a crunchy guitar teamed with a charming melodic line over the top, with some what wishy-washy mid-90s Brit pop-esque fayre about angels falling from grace, which reminds me Idlewild's more recent radio friendly efforts. The second track, Whatever, has a slightly rawer edge, yet still retains an unmistakeable pop tone, more like Idlewild's earlier 100 Broken Windows era. While not as radio friendly as the preceding track, it is certainly more endearing; I believe the gritty sentiment more than the first track. With the added dimension of piano the third track, You Are Something, sounds more like the quirky pop of Duke Special, with just a hint of toned down Strokes-style lead guitar. Finally there is a radio edit of the title track, which simply feels like an unnecessary inclusion for the sake of completeness.

Overall, an enjoyable if somewhat lacklustre affair, which doesn't encourage me play it over and over again, though I could be persuaded to check out their future releases. Expect a second EP and their debut full-length effort to follow later this year.

By Adam Tolladay

Rating: 6/10
Format: Single
Label: Inactive
Release Date: Out Now
www.myspace.com/heritagecentre