In the last four years, The Futureheads have made some of the most interesting Popp-y Post-Punk around. Their self-titled debut was a ragged and jagged send up to influencers such as XTC and their cover of Kate Bush's Hounds of Love that is housed there is one of the best cover songs to come along in ages. Their follow-up, News and Tributes, was a toned down affair but still had an air of originality and fervor that made it highly recommended. Their third and newest release, This is Not the World, find The Futureheads ambitiously releasing their new album on their own Nul Records yet unfortunately it seems this might be the most ambitious thing about it.

This is Not the World finds The Futureheads almost content in sounding like the rest of their peers. It's a decent enough record, but do we really need a promising band like this sounding like second tier acts such as Bloc Party and Maximo Park? Another slight problem that This is Not the World suffers from is one and the same-ness. Every song here has almost the exact same up-tempo beats and shifts that never change and nearly renders every song unmemorable. A few tracks, such as the rapid fire "Work is Never Done" and first single "The Beginning of the Twist" are fun, but aren't really worth sifting through most of the rest of this homogenous stuff. Overall, This is Not the World is a passable album, but considering the source of the band that made it, it is a slightly disappointing one.