This is a review of "Nightcap EP" recorded by The Hit and Runs. The review was written by Danny Martin in 2007.

‘Ow do, Sirs?

It would stand to reason, that within a year or so of the Arctic Monkeys’ slightly bemusing and chaotic arrival onto the music scene, there was suddenly gonna be a deluge of two bit chancers picking up guitars and warbling away in local dialect. And therefore this EP, and the band that created it, come as little surprise to my battered ears.

The Hit and Runs hail from the wonderfully dingy cesspit that is Bradford. I too was dragged up through the streets of this town so feel well-placed to preach, and if the Monkeys are managing to produce albums full of material about the shambolic goings on in Sheffield then it’s safe to say anyone doing the same with Bradford could write a feckin’ odyssey!

And shoot me if I’m wrong, but the Arctic’s formula seems to be the driving force behind this EP. Bitter Yorkshire shanties, portraying the prosaic tales we all live, day in, day bloody out. Opener and title track “Nightcap” a torrid poke at the crutch that is alcohol, it’s bleak and raw to say the least - “he'll sleep tonight, sleep tonight, if he has a little drink, or two”.

The production on this EP is first rate, and thus from “Nightcap” right through to closer “Low tops, and make-up” the musical competence of these guys is wonderfully nailed onto disk. The bass-line, especially in “Page ripped out” is outstanding. Filthy and brutal, a bed on which to sit the rampant guitars and rasping vocals.

Considering the life of this band has been short, and my one only criticism been that some of the lyrics are sitting on the fence between poetically simple and just plain simple, this is a pretty decent record. The sound is possibly a bit too studio, and therefore lacking the energy and sparkle I can imagine in a live setting.

Is the Monkeys’ bandwagon still rolling though, who knows? If the flame were still to be kept alight though I wouldn’t bet against these guys to be carrying the torch.

Up the Bradford.