I Want Too Much
	(Blanco-Y-Negro/LP/CD)
	Dave Simpson

Eccentrics to a man, Dublin's A-House have recorded their second LP in a hotel dining room on the tiny Irish coastal island of lnishbofin, uising the mixing desk on which John Lennon recorded 'Imagine', which meant stopping the sessions every time there was a power surge, i.e. at meal times. As might be expected, the album is every bit as mod, manic and yes, majestic as their loony ways suggest. It opens with the deceptive “13 Wonderful Love Songs” an awkwardly elegant strum containing the merest hint of the insanity to follow, 13 examinations of the facets of greed seen through a web of madcap disaffection. On 'I Want Too Much', Dave Cause howls and shrieks while the band deliver a raucous rock twang that sounds curiously not quite right, rather like a rock equivalent of the Portsmouth Sinfonia. This strange, almost hallucinatory, disorientated thread runs through much of the album. 'The Patron Saint Of Mediocrity', for example, is what The Kinks would've sounded like had they gone the way of Syd Barrett- i.e. damn fine, although I hope the hymn to nonentity is tongue in cheek. Elsewhere, A-House could be an Irish Camper Van Beethoven. 'I Give You You' is a blackly humourous glance back at a demanding relationship, and 'I Think I’m Going Mad' is a chirpy yet sad reflection on the state of the world. The great 'Manstrong' is a woman's look at the potential rapist in all men, yet contains a warning against unwarranted fear and the resulting isolation.     All in all, intriguing lyrics, a wayward feel and a consistent supply of good tunes add up to one rather excellent collection.