The Kustom Built are a Newcastle/Sunderland based quintet, and "Torch Songs" is a four track EP released through their own Atomic Hi Fi label, blessed with the dubious gimmick of a flotilla of ball bearings that rattle around in the spine of the case whenever you pick it up. Musically they sound like a straight-faced Black Grape juiced up on Northern soul, ska and spaghetti Western soundtracks, an alluring combo platter that doesn't always connect but can be fascinating when it does, for example the title track and the foggy demo version of "New Morning" included here. The booklet contains a reading list of North-eastern cultural iconography: examples include "Rod and The Faces at The Empire on semi final day 1973", "Jack Carter chucks Alf Roberts off Gateshead car park in the greatest film ever made" and "The Roses at The Casbah then a lifetime later at Whitley Bay Ice Rink", so they clearly mean it, man. If all that promise isn't quite fulfilled herein stay tuned, because it seems probable that The Kustom Built have a great album inside them somewhere.

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