Noisy indie-poppers downdime have been playing around the Leeds music scene for a good five years now, and have retained quite a low profile, seldom moving out of their circle of DIY gigs in LS6.

Indeed their album has been mooted for a good few years now, and we were, it's fair to say, pretty shocked when it turned up on our desk. But Knowing Too Much is a sheer delight. Downdime have always had an ear for a fine pop melodies and their keyboard driven slacker anthems here are under-pinned simultaneously by a certain joie de vivre and a fairly tragic sense of longing (provided by singer Ged's slightly whining, nasal vocals).

Long time fans of downdime will recognise a couple of the tracks here, the beautifully longing 'Joanne' and anthemic closer of 'Shine' especially, and the other six tracks similarly chuck together noisy, clattering guitar, a driving rhythm section and those bright, bubbling key lines. A damn fine pop album for those who like their pop shrouded in off-kilter noise.

Downdime are another impressive band on the Squirrel Records roster. Their début LP has just been released and even features an original Manhattan Love Suicide Eddy Lines on skin pounding duties. Whereas the Manhattans take their perfect melodies and press it through a fuzz filter - downdime are all about clearer lines and sharp sounds - although there is still an element of fuzz to their pop - the synth/keyboard sounds give the band an added depth.

After seeing the band live a few years ago - I am genuinely surprised by ‘Knowing Too Much’. It really is a pristine pop record - with an aching melancholy at its heart whereas the band were a much noisier proposition back then. I’m enjoying this LP a great deal and with it clocking in at just under 30 minutes it’s near enough the perfect length for a record. Songs like ‘Any Good Reason’ and ‘Lessons’ are all about hooks and melody. downdime have made a very good record, début or otherwise. Give them a listen, they’re worth a lot more than 30 minutes of your time.

Downdime’s unusual title isn’t a barrier to good music. It’s four years since MM caught the quartet at the Faversham in Leeds with Nine Black Alps, but after a single and compilation appearance or two, Squirrel Records have endorsed their debut album. The eight tracks here combine west coast sunshine pop with a distorted strum of workmanlike chords. Every now and again a keyboard adds a light refrain, as the vocals overlay a series of lightly delivered flourishes. There are elements of Nada Surf, a more frivolous Neil Young... “Knowing Too Much” is an album full of British Pop tunes, toughened up with burst of guitars and frenetic jangles. One minute the songs explode through mountains of fizzling distortion and then, as found on the closing track “Shine”, the music pursues a lullaby quality, even if this song does eventually climax into multi-tracked crescendos. The album is refreshingly compact and by picking what must be their strongest songs, “Knowing Too Much” is an utterly impressive debut.

Some people like Scouting for Girls, and if they had any sense they would like downdime. OK, maybe that’s not the best place to start, but it might give you an idea of the sort of pop gem that can be found amongst the eight tracks of the debut album ‘Knowing Too Much’. They are essentially a garage-pop band with leanings towards early 90s indie such as Pavement, with lo-fi sounds fully intact. Title track and album opener ‘Knowing Too Much’ over does the pop to a certain extent, but ‘Lessons’ and ‘Joanne’ are two of the most endearing guitar songs issued in a long, long while before ‘Time Runs Too Slow’ shows there are more strings to the downdime bow, literally, as the strings kick in to dampen the mood. Proof that this is just the band showing off comes in the shape of normal service being immediately resumed in the shape of ‘Any Good Reason’ and ‘Slave To Circumstance’, nobody ever knew that four guys from Leeds could do this good an impression of REM, and pull it off without ripping them off. Recorded at Brudenell Social Club, recent Cribs' efforts echo through ‘Shine’ but for the all the likenesses downdime produce something original. From start to finish this album should be played loud from a car stereo and covers enough bases to provide the soundtrack to your Spring with its pop duellings yet never loses sight of its credibility factor.

Backed by the zesty Squirrel Records, downdime sound every bit the cool sub-radar Leeds outfit, with this eight-song album recorded at The Brudenell Social Club.
These low-key credentials are bolstered ten-fold though when you get a load of these jumped-up, happy-go-lucky harmonies that are reminiscent of our own Polytechnic, but stripped down into a garage equivalent of The Shout Out Louds. It’s a messy attempt at something very pure, and that is always a good thing.
Especially when it’s done with the sort of impetuous optimism displayed here; the album’s title track bounds relentlessly with melody, whilst the uncontrollable organ keys of ‘Joanne’ and the twin Wayne Coyne vocal front quivering with heart.
downdime need only to step gingerly outside of this formula to show some range though, and sensitively they deliver both the upbeat melancholy that echoes to the end of ‘Lessons’, and the genuine wistful melancholy of ‘Time Runs Too Slow’, propped up by a piano/cello backing of real sombre force.
But it would still be nice to hear this given some shine – just the tiniest bit – because for all of its well-meaning sentiment, Knowing Too Much is a bit too DIY to the point of it sounding just like some demo. A demo of gorgeous songs by a band who sound like they’ve a lot of love to give.

Four friends from Leeds clearly taking great pleasure in crafting well constructed North American influenced easy on the ear alternative indie pop. If you like your Pavement, Mercury Rev, Sebadoh and your Wedding Present then this is for you. Well played, well recorded, good songs, good sounds, all good, sometimes it really is that simple. Rather recommended in an unassuming uplifting way.

There’s something so joyful about this record that it makes you wonder why all bands don’t take at least 5 years to record their first album. Firstly I suppose we should declare an interest here – we put downdime on at one of our gigs back in 2005 and damn fine they were too. Little did we know it would be 2009 before we would get hear an album though. So what is the effect of this hiatus? Well the most striking aspect is the sound of a band that is entirely comfortable with themselves, they are having fun and they have honed each track down to its perfect composition. There’s no room for vast experimentation and 15-piece orchestras (take note Still Flyin’). downdime paint lightly but perfectly with their restrained palette of sonic toys. There are frequent returns to the parpy keyboard sounds, the jangly guitars (overlaid occasionally with great slabs of overdriven guitar that crunch right through you) and Ged’s unique vocal style, like a sedated Brian Molko. Another key is downdime’s ability to combine their upbeat pop sensibilities with a darker more introspective side. Classic example is ‘Time Runs Too Slow’ which straddles Velvet Underground and Idlewild’s ‘Remote Part’ with a gentle aplomb. Then finally there is the epic, the triumphalist and surely the peak of the band’s output to date; ‘Shine’. It’s swirling psychedelic genius which epitomises the band’s mastery of light/dark sounds. You get the feeling that downdime have never held much stock in trying to climb to the top of the slippery pole of the music industry, instead creating music which purely interests and entertains for the sake of it, not for shifting units. But with ‘Knowing Too Much’ they might just accidentally do both.

The second 45 from downdime is every bit as excellent as their debut 45 from 05, "Seeds Of Hopelessness". "Hate The Morning" brushes aside the sleepy dust to force its way into a bright new day with trebly guitars to the fore & insistent organ at the back. Intense, persistent & not entirely un-addictive, rattling all the way to a guitar solo of blinding simplicity that soaks the senses like the very best dew on a high quality lawn at the break of dawn. B-side, "Joanne" is no slouch either. Up & atom.