The accompanying press release regales a witty and warm biog; so one would expect The Research's debut album to be suitably similar. Thankfully, it is. The second trio to emerge from Wakefield, North Yorkshire in recent years (the other being The Cribs), The Research are more likely to hide under a table at an awards ceremony than fling themselves across one. That's not to say that Russell (THE DISASTER), Georgia and Sarah are as virtuous as a gaggle of nuns, though most tracks on Breaking Up admittedly would belie this assumption. It's an album that the Ronseal man could advertise; a collection of love songs that charter the break-up of a relationship; some heartwarming, some blub-inducing. The decision to forego the use of a guitar, substituting it instead with a Casio synthesizer is duly noted, but embellishes the scuzzy lo-fi pop songs that The Research churn out for fun. There are shoop-shoop-style female harmonies in abundance (True Love Weighs A Tonne), bittersweet, wry lyrics (I Love You But), hand claps and bells (C'mon Chameleon) and enough catchy summer pop choruses to last till at least next Spring. Breaking Up is an elementary, fluffy indie pop album with a grimy edge and no obvious frills; but its charming fuzzy murkiness makes it one that's worth returning to, even if it means going through the Break Up all over again.
