'Giggle' by Why?

It was with a certain amount of trepidation I listened to this. As a teenager, I loved Why?, but I found it hard to believe that affection would be unchanged. As a result, this was a very pleasant surprise.

Musically, this is better than you might think. It’s played well, and the production is fairly good (though at times, the violin dominates like a buzz saw). There are also inventive flourishes throughout the album – unexpected shifts in tempo and key which generally work very well. The album’s vocal duties are shared by Ant and Nick Parker, and they complement each other well. Ant’s vocals are warmer, Nick’s are perhaps more ambitious, but with a certain degree of tongue in cheek.

Lyrically, the album is a curious mix. A deliberate amount of nonsense is on show, but the band were never afraid to display their faith openly, either through serious references to God, or in-jokes – you have to love a band who start a song with the line ‘every year, Steve Chalke brings out a video’.

Throughout it all, there’s a sense of fun and enjoyment that you can’t help but be sucked in by, even if that comes despite your better judgement.