Here Comes The Flood: Alberteen: Metal Book

Alberteen is a well educated band. Lead singer Phil Shaw is a Professor of English Literature at University of Leicester and bass player Ade Berry is a playwright and director. With John Rose on guitar they perform dark post-rock songs with a cinematic feel. The core band doesn't feature a drummer as a full member, so for the recording sessions for their debut album Metal Book they enlisted Gareth Warden. Mike Bennett (The Fall, Ian Brown) acted as producer.

Only an English band could come up with a song titles like Tamogotchi Landfill and Waterloo Teeth, but are not above straight rock songs like A Girl and a Gun and the rollicking love song The Butcher's Daughter, a catchy track that could have been penned by Tom Verlaine. Alberteen goes for an updated New Wave sound, painting with broad strokes in one song and pinpointing the notes in the other.

Singer Shaw wrote a well-informed book for the 33 1/3 series about Horses by the Patti Smith Group. That band's guitar player, Lenny Kaye, started out as a writer for Rolling Stone before crossing the street to become a rock star in his own right. And maybe, in his dreams Shaw is contemplating similar scenario.

The rhythm & noir sound of Metal Book will get the band well deserved attention among late night radio listeners and the music geeks inner circle, who will appreciate the guest appearance of guitarist Mark Refoy (Spiritualized, Spacemen 3) and keyboard player Tony Robinson (Super Furry Animals). It won't go platinum, but it is an album that will sale for many year to come to through word-of-mouth. Being a cult band might even be cooler in the long run than selling out arenas and stadiums.