Piney Gir - The Yearling (Hotel Records)

I always had Piney Gir down as some kind of ironic line dancer, or something. I really shouldn't make daft assumptions like that, because 'The Yearling' is a quite lovely album.

Imagine, dear reader, a female George Formby singing to the regulars in a dusty bar in an episode of the Dukes of Hazzard. In waltzes Piney Gir (not literally) and regales them all with her slightly quaint, slightly kooky (please don't be put off by the 'k' word; she's not Tori Amos) songs about bumblebees and elephants and castles. Boss Hog would bloody love it.

Sometimes the songs here sound like Bugsy Malone misfits, other times they spook me out because they have a THEREMIN in them. And it's been a while since I heard a good theremin. But check it out in the sweet 'Of all the Wonderful Things'.

The best track here is 'Say I'm Sorry' which starts off nice a slow with a cracking bit of slide guitar, before all of a sudden launching into the chorus. How very modern. But it's the sort of pop song that we miss when Tender Trap are on one of their long breaks.

I didn't really expect to like 'The Yearling' at all. But I do, and what's more, now I can't get the theme tune to the Dukes of Hazzard out of my head. There are worse things in life.

You can download 'Say I'm Sorry' here.