Already a name to drop in the correct circles and a Snub appearance stored in the kitty, Curve are hanging in the firing line as the latest ripe hype balloon.

And yet, the 'Blindfold EP' goes some way in gently deflating that balloon and planting a signpost to longevity during the course of four winsomely attractive cuts, immaculately produced by Steve Osborne of Happy Mondays fame.

It's the lead track, 'Ten Little Girls', that scoops the major silverware. Imagine the sidewinding sass of early Chrissie Hynde updated and outvamped and you have Curve chanteuse Toni Halliday prior to being trawled through a deep and expansive vat of guitars and then beached by an intense, chomping rap by DJ extraordinaire JC 001.

Got the idea yet? OK, perhaps it could be a flash in the pan, but add 'Blindfold', 'Escape From Heaven' and 'I Speak Your Every Word' - completed by some frantic sub-Terry Bickers fret action from guitarist Dean Garcia - and all of a sudden Curve begin to loom as a formidable new force on the horizon.

Forget the hype. Curve have the power to drive you around their razor sharp bends.

Single of the Week

(review nicked from 'Sounds', dated 1991)