They coulda been contenders…

No, they really could; When Londoners King Cujo (then called just Cujo) first made their presence known to the rock world in the early two thousands, they quickly attracted hordes of eager fans to their banner, in the process collecting kudos from all quarters for their radio-friendly post grunge racket.

Now, with the band back on active duty nearly two decades later, it’s easy to see why, as Lost Inside The Landfill unfolds before the ears, revealing a multitude of delights for anyone who loves spartan yet strangely sumptuous, nineties-flavoured hard rock. Think Feeder, think Bush… even Reef get a little look in on opener Down Here, but at the end of the day King Cujo take all that and become much more than the sum of their influences. LITL is a very accomplished piece of work indeed.

Kevin Dawson has the classic Britrock voice, world-weary, tortured yet ultimately redemptive in a twisted sort of way, and his performance as singing axe slinger comes to the fore in exciting fashion on the slow-burning Roses, where his wall of sound is bolstered by some nice work from Jamie Hook on drums and bassist Ben Keep, who patrols the rhythm boundaries tightly with Hook yet manages to fill in the gaps in the sound left by the lack of a second guitar player with aplomb throughout.

Lay Down And Pretend To Be Dead is looser, groovier and heavier – and dare I say it slightly more American sounding with it’s Morelloesque guitar interjections – whilst the bass driven pomp of Making No Sound brings to mind The Pixies, but the bottom line here is that wherever you drop the needle you’re going to be guaranteed some deliciously well put together and executed rock music that stands the band in incredibly good stead as they continue on their journey – great stuff!

Lost Inside The Landfill is out now.