Whimsical. That's the name of the game with District Repair Depot's eponymous album, released recently on Gare Du Nord Records. It's a train of thought and songwriting first set in motion by Ray Davies and set in stone the moment Syd Barrett decided to sing, 'I've got a bike, you can ride it if you like..' A train of thought that's kept English bands and artists like Robyn Hitchcock, XTC, Television Personalities, Julian Cope, Bevis Frond and Cleaners From Venus more than happy ever since. The sound of wet England, rainy afternoons, second hand shops, libraries, and railway station waiting rooms.
And District Repair Depot do this tradition very proud. It's a slightly variable record in terms of quality but it essentially sticks to the established tradition described above and cast a small spell over the course of its eleven tracks. Don't expect to be desperately surprised but if you know and like this stuff you should at least be charmed.
A core kernel of this school of thought is a wilful, yet oddly determined sense of under achievement, a key feature of the British character. So if the record really doesn't merit more than seven out of ten you can't help but suspect that this is the mark it is secretly hoping for. And anyhow, opening track Barry Jones is something of a classic in itself. District Train Depot paint a world that is forever England.
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