HALF MAN HALF BISCUIT Vinyl & CDs

Review: Wirral group Half Man Half Biscuit return with 13 tracks of clipped, deadpan commentary and characteristically sharp titles. 'Horror Clowns Are Dickheads' sets the tone early i jagged, unglamorous, and unbothered with polish. 'Goodbye Sam, Hello Samaritans' and 'Rawlplugs of Yesteryear (Breaking the States)' take similarly sideways routes through pop culture detritus and social noise. 'The Bliss of the Hereafter' and 'McCalliog and His Hens' skew slower, with more spoken delivery than structure. 'Record Store Day' lands its target without overstating the punchline. Elsewhere, 'No-One Likes A Polymath' and 'Falmouth Electrics' keep the language tight but surprisingly pointed. 'I'm Going Out of My Mind Trying to Get Into Yours' is a rare moment of emotional slippage i though only just i before the band revert to type on 'Jack's Been to the National' and 'Possible Side Effects'. Overall, they remain the only band who could deliver lines like these and still sound like they're holding something back.