Jazz-punk. Yeah, I can almost hear your thought process. Now shut up. Big Strides’ frontman Marcus O’Neill sums it up perfectly when he says, “we don’t want to be a rock band that shuts out the influence of all the great old time stuff, so we have to stand firm. Jazz and blues aren’t soft, they’re dirty like punk.”

Enough justification, I’ll just tell you why I like this single. Big Strides are not unlike Dogs Die In Hot Cars and they also don’t take things as seriously as some might think they should. The deadpan chorus of “you make me feel less suicidal” may seem dour on the surface but this band are all about fun.

Label: Tall Order/Radiotone
Website: www.bigstrides.net
Release date: 2nd May 2005

Tracklist:

1. Suicidal
2. Carfire
3. Back To The Lemon