At first sight, Dublin four-piece Trip Hazard may look like a hundred other local bands - but their highly impressive debut album proves that they've got a sound all of their own. Perhaps it's because their chiming indie-rock has a faintly menacing air to it, perhaps it's because Dave Conway's anguished lyrics sound as if a lifetime of thought has been put into them. Whatever the reason, these twisted tales of broken relationships have a distinctly unsettling effect. As you'd expect from a first outing, the songwriting is a little uneven - but the band's quirky introspection is present throughout, and it all hangs together as a unified piece of work. As long as they can avoid being confused with the dire English heavy metal band of the same name, Trip Hazard should have a very promising future ahead of them.