Vincent Vincent and the Villains have been in circulation since at least 2003, and recently underwent a well-documented parting of the ways between lead singer Vincent and half of the original band (who went on to form The Rumble Strips, with lead man Charlie Waller becoming the subject of the VV song “Johnny Two Bands”). Now that the dust has presumably settled they have released this, their debut album.The lead singer, engaging 50's throwback Vincent, certainly makes no secret of his influences ”“ singing, on 'Killing Time' of the joys of kicking back and revelling in his 1950s rock ‘n’ roll record collection; and ”“ on 'Blue Boy' ”“ referencing “Blue Moon” so closely it could almost pass for a cover or variation on a theme, in part.Vincent’s voice is warm and appealing, which gives the album a large part of its attraction, and many of the songs are upbeat in melody and tempo. This is belied, however, by the lyrical tone, which can often be quite dark and melancholy. 'On My Own', for example, is an attempt to accept and come to terms with loneliness and isolation; and 'Jealousy and Bitterness' confesses to a life governed by these abiding sins. Lyrically the track that I found most interesting was 'Cinema', which tells the story of the tedious life of the “nicotine dependent / cinema attendant” (lovely rhyming couplet, there!) in an appropriately misanthropic and world-weary manner. They can also do a nice evocation of a 1950's teenager’s innocence and romanticism, as found on forthcoming single 'Pretty Girl', which sounds so authentic that it gives you a little jolt when you hear them sing of visiting Tesco and bumping into the object of their affection. Did they have Tesco in 1950's small town America?At times the band risk drifting a little bit towards invidious Showaddywaddy territory (ask your parents), but make up for this by more often steering a path closer, perhaps, to skiffle-beat as well as rockabilly and rock ‘n’ roll. Indeed you can sometimes hear the common ground that they undoubtedly share with their peers like The Libertines and other early 2000's London “urch” type bands for example. This on the whole makes for an interesting blend, and stops them becoming too preserved in aspic as a solely novelty “retro” attraction.I really rather enjoyed spending a few hours with this album and this band.  If you have a fondness for jaunty tunes, a little rock ‘n’ roll, with a side-order of melancholy and a dash of naivete then you could probably do worse than give it a listen. They are also a band that work well live, so practice your “jitterbug” (is this right??) and catch them when they next tour.  They’re probably not going to be the most incredible band you’ve ever discovered, but hopefully you, like me, will pass a diverting and enjoyable interlude time-travelling with them. 69%Links Vincent Vincent and the Villans [official site] [myspace] [buy it]