The Grubby Mitts, hail from Bedford and are led by visual artist Andy Holden alongside long-term collaborators and friends Johnny Parry, Roger Illingworth, James MacDowell and John Blamey. Now in their early thirties, they have been playing together in various line-ups since the age of twelve. What the World Needs Now took eight years to complete, being part-anthology, part debut album; a cornucopia of sounds from the willfully eclectic output of the Grubby Mitts past and present...

The record mixes ambient electronic pieces juxtaposed with pop songs, string quartets, spoken word and a children’s choir and school orchestra. Often one line refrains are repeated and layered in an attempt to grapple with vast sentiments; such as the single “To a Friend’s House the Way is Never Long” and the Gavin Bryars’ esq “The mountain & I”. These tracks will annoy some and delight others. 'The Mountain & I' has a particular beautiful piece of music played behind the vocals.

Unusual sound-sources abound; the sound of a marble dropping down a child’s toy ('Last Stop for the Good Old Times'), bicycle wheels, coffee pots bubbling, snippets from cartoons, detuned radios, and jazz records all compete with live drums, drum machines, an array of woodwind, guitars, piano, synths and home-recorded string quartets.

The band do deliver a handful of mainstream tracks, like 'Home at Last' and 'Worm of Eternal Return', but even those have some sort of bizarre sound going on in the background.

It's an intriguing sound from an interesting group, although some may find the monotony a little tiring and feel that Grubby Mitts are a bit of a one trick pony. For me it's a refreshingly original sound that is very much of the here and now. I doubt I'll be still listening to this in six months time, but I'm enjoying the novelty while it lasts.

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Nick Smithson