Un-Bear-lievable debut EP from the Bad News duo

I speak on behalf of all the various media inlets, outlets and shakeitallaboutlets in Northampton music when I say there's a guilty pleasure in supporting obscure and outlandish types of music that many wouldn't even dream of listening to, 72% Morrissey coming particularly to mind. However two electropop artists seem to have ideas of their own, lodging themselves immovably into the county's brains until we succumb to their catchy brilliance. Adam Fitch and Alex Gee (no, not the guy who managed Oasis) are that DIY duo - going by the name of The Bad News Bears - complete with infectious tunes, uplifting melodies, homemade videos, the works! In fact it may well be physically impossible not to love them.

Seeing as we can now sing along to every last word off by heart, we might as well download their music too with the handy release of the debut Young Disgrace EP. A more complex version of the Y.M.C.A., M.A.C.H.I.N.E. is the first of three tracks, telling the tale of two disastrous yet lovable robots through twinkling synths and juddering basslines complete with the number one ingredient for any great pop song: a children's choir of course.

However no sooner have we been told not to ever doubt ourselves than the we hear the rasping of: "your body is a waste of flesh and bone!" It's a much darker sound than their cheerful norm, Adam running Amarillo-stylie into a crunching, wobbling dubstep breakdown. We All Belong is much in the vein of M.A.C.H.I.N.E., enhancing the overall theme of being unwanted, questioning why the rest of the world doesn't do lyric videos like the genius of Bear Hug Media. Both visually and audibly (perhaps even physically) it's a very strong first record, hopefully the first of many more to come.

So they might not be as streetwise as Ill Murk or as cool as Acoda but that doesn't means The Bad News Bears aren't still one of the town's most awesome bands for Northampton to be definitely proud of. There's something incredibly more enjoyable about fully packaging all their tracks with a video and release, making The Bad News Bears a band to keep your eyes and indeed your ears out for more grizzly tunes in the future. They bear-ly put a foot wrong!