The Beta Band could be forgiven for feeling just a little frustrated. Despite being lauded by everyone from Radiohead to John Cusack in High Fidelity, the Scottish quartet have spent the best part of a decade waiting to have a hit of their own (calling their first album 'a crock of s**t' probably didn't help). Well, if Heroes To Zeroes doesn't do the trick, nothing will - this time round, the band have tidied up their sound, turned up the volume and produced what's undeniably their most accessible offering to date. But while they may have moved a little closer to the mainstream, the Beta Band remain as dazzlingly inventive as ever. Garage rock, space-age electronica and psychedelic skiffle have all been thrown into the mix here, together with such characteristically zany touches as cosmic rayguns and barking dogs. It all adds up to a formidable album, but has it come in time to rescue the Beta Band's career? Let's hope so.
