6th January, 1997

Not the most auspicious of starts to the new year. The one single worth buying didn't even warrant a Single of the Week...

Single of the Week

"Nuclear Holiday" by 3 Colours Red

One of the "band to watch" - like Kenickie (see last week) - 3 Colours Red are just too retro, too post-punk to stand a chance of greatness. Inoffensive where it should be shocking; hummable where it should be lodging in your brain like a limpet; slightly snot-nosed where it should be sneering and searing: "Nuclear Holiday" is one of those songs that you think "why did they bother?"...Surely the band must have better stuff than this?

Thankfully they do, on the evidence of "Human Factory", a wonderful new wave/metal combination that sounds like Hazel O'Connor squaring up to Anthrax with The Only Ones playing over the top. Other b-side "My Own Gauge" is more along the lines of the a-side and therefore disappointing.

A band to watch perhaps, but only out the corner of your eye.

Rating: 6/10

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