Single Review: Being There – 17

London indie rockers Being There may or may not have been named after a 1971 Jerzy Kosinski novel that was made into a film by Hal Ashby, or Wilco’s 1996 alt-country classic of the same name, but what is for sure is that they are a heavily tipped young band due to release ‘17′ as the second single from their upcoming debut album, Breaking Away.

Having been tipped by the NME as one of the 100 new bands to watch in 2012, Being There have a bit of momentum behind them, and following on from previous single ‘The Radio’, the Londoners knock out another song laced with angular guitar riffs and solos, thumping drums and a Libertines swagger.

Clocking in at just under two and a half minutes and ending rather abruptly, ‘17′ is immediate as rock music comes these days, and won’t take a few listens to imprint its melody on the listener, it will be in your head straight away. Taken on its own unpretentious, straight-ahead, good time indie rock merits, it is an enjoyable enough track that may make it onto many people’s iPod playlists in time for the summer festival season.

Overall, ‘17′ is not an outstanding or breathtakingly original effort (and the comparisons made to the peerless Pavement are well off the mark), but a fun enough single that will likely ensure the buzz around the band continues for some time yet.

By William David Wilson

@wdwilso2