No, AFTER YOU SIR... AN inroduction to You Am i

You Am I were the prophets who unwittingly arrived several years too early for the garage rock revival.

Lauded as inspirations by The Strokes and The Vines, the Aussie rockers were plainly worth a second spin, and this UK-onlys compilation does just that, concentrating on the band's first five albums.

They played support to the Rolling Stones on the Australian leg of their world tour, which gives you some idea of the musical company they would prefer to keep.

This retrospective reveals them as a band capable of conjuring the filthy, primeval guitar riff, but also with a keen sense of pop melody, often colliding in something which has a mod-like whiff of early Who.

Just how sophisticated they can get is illustrated by Soldiers, which has the kind of harmonic flair deployed by Squeeze at their best.

Paul Taylor

www.manchesteronline.co.uk