Shake/Shiver/Moan

iTunes Review

So after having been broken up for a mere couple of years, Lincolnshire, England’s 22-20s reformed in 2008. Fans of the band’s 2005 eponymous debut album may be a bit nonplussed to find that their bluesy and rootsy sound — they named themselves after the song “22-20 Blues” by Skip James — has been placed on the back burner for a more panoramic Britpop style. “Heart on a String” opens with the pointed angularity of a Franz Ferdinand tune, while the following “Bitter Pills” stylishly stumbles through Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s fascination with the Jesus And Mary Chain, replete with an all-out shoegazing bridge where guitars howl, clang and feedback like 1992 never ended. And the jangly “Ocean” recalls that pre-Oasis time when bands like the La’s, the Stone Roses and Ocean Colour Scene were plugging Rickenbackers into Vox amps and wearing really wide flared jeans. Even London’s mid-‘90s haircut and leather jacket phase gets represented with “Latest Heartbreak,” a rocking cocksure tune that would fit snugly between early recordings by Suede, Elastica, Pulp and even Menswe@r.