Re-issue of a single originally released in the UK last November to support their LP’s US release, if the mention of the word ‘Fratellis’ still sends a cold shiver down your spine, then this won’t do much to warm you back up. Jon Lawler’s other band, comprising himself and Glasgow chanteuse Lou Hickey, are a different animal to everyone’s favourite Chas N Dave copyists, with dueling male/female vocals and the musical emphasis on big band arrangements and horn sections. The normal, lazy thoughts of Lee Hazlewood/Nancy Sinatra, however are redundant; instead, think more of comparing between Smokey Robinson, and Plan B’s re-branding as a chunky Amy Winehouse; the similarities exist in only that CVC comprise a man, and a lady, who sing. Hickey’s voice is strong enough, however Lawler’s is weak, and unfortunately flat; meaning that however husky the horn arrangement is, the track carries all the noir-ish menace of a cocker spaniel. If you managed to avoid this first time round, say a prayer of thanks to whatever deity you follow for protecting you from bad records, and don’t seek it out now.

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Codeine Velvet Club have got me calling call Hollywood ‘Tinseltown’, name checking Old Blue Eyes and telling strangers in bars that, back in the day, you never had to worry about a dead hooker in the pool so long as you knew the right people. A side project of Fratellis’ front man Jon Lawler and singer-songwriter Lou Hickey, CVC make a spirited attempt to annex the swath of retro musical territory stretching from noir to Nancy Sinatra. The band’s opening thrust – their panzer strike through the Ardennes, if you will – gets things off to a cracking start. This reviewer’s favourite track, ‘Hollywood’, is a punchy number oozing silver screen delight and film noir charm that serves as a sort of manifesto for the rest of the homage-heavy album. Hard on its heels comes the probably-just-as-good-now-I-come-to-think-of-it ‘Vanity Kills’, a Broadway-style show tune that ups the swing and smooch factor with lines like “Life’s a roll of the dice/But you’ll pay the price/When that curtain falls”.

Seriously, serve up these songs on Radio One for long enough and fedora sales would skyrocket. But don’t all rush off to buy shares in Acme Hats Inc. quite yet, because the snag with CVC is that they’re essentially a novelty act – and novelty can get old real fast. ‘Reste Avec Moi’ could be a Kinks’ soundtrack for a hip French film, ‘Like A Full Moon’ is a song that The Coral never quite got round to writing, while ‘Nevada’, orchestrated by Belle & Sebastian’s Mick Cooke, has a woozy romantic beauty. However, this whistle-stop genre tour means that the album never quite breaks free from pastiche. It’s difficult to dislike Lawler and Hickey’s rummage through the musical equivalent of a dressing-up box, but ‘Codeine Velvet Club’ sounds like a parlour game in a way that Amanda Palmer’s Weimar burlesque and Luke Haines’ acidic 1930s anti-nostalgia somehow manage to avoid. I bet CVC had fun making this album and I certainly enjoyed listening to it, but in the end ‘Codeine Velvet Club’ is like Gus Van Sant’s remake of ‘Psycho’ – glossy, well-produced and kinda pointless.

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