Cops And Robbers is to be the fourth single from The Hoosiers’ debut album, The Trick To Life. They’ve got their tongues planted firmly in their cheeks yet again, as the video for the tune whisks them off to Dickensian times for crimefighting capers.

I’ll admit, I was skeptical that they could continue the fantastic run of singles that they’ve had with this album, but the Hoosiers have come out again with an exuberant, fast-paced record.

I’ve been bemoaning the same-ness of a lot of British Indie bands at the moment, so it’s refreshing that Sparkes and Co have been able to release a string of singles that are light-hearted, fun and brilliantly infectious.

Here’s the video…

After two very tongue in cheek singles, The Hoosiers give us a taste of their serious side with Worst Case Scenario, their new single.

Gone are the padded superhero suits of Goodbye Mr A or the monster mayhem of Worried About Ray. In their place, a darker band and a darker video than they’ve previously released. I don’t think frontman Irwin Sparkes pulls a face once!

Worst Case Scenario, as pointed out by our friends at the Radio 1 Chartblog, is more of a straight Indie effort. There are less of the quirky sound effects that defined Goodbye Mr A, but there’s still a distinctive Hoosiers style in the music. And Sparkes’ vocals are instantly recognisable amid a scene filled with thick Northern accents.

I think the more conventional delivery takes away from the band’s sense of fun – the playfulness that sets them apart from their contemporaries. Don’t get me wrong – it’s still a catchy song and a bit of a grower – I suppose they need to show a bit of diversity if they want to avoid being labelled as a novelty band.

Not their best, but should show the fans that there’s more depth to The Hoosiers.

With their own brand of bouncy, fun guitar pop, The Hoosiers are going to have a broad appeal anyway. The video shows the guys kidnapping a superhero – the Mr A of the title – and then donning costumes themselves and getting up to some crime-fighting hijinx.

It sort of follows on from the Sci-Fi homage of the previous song, and we still love the faces that singer Irwin Sparkes manages to pull as he sings to the struggling Mr A.

Goodbye Mr A is released on 8 October 2007 and The Hoosiers’ debut album The Trick To Life is released on 22 October.

About the song: a large part of me wants to hate Worried About Ray. It’s irritatingly upbeat, the video’s hugely geeky and the lead singer, Irwin Sparkes, is extremely cheesy.

Isn’t it funny that those same things are why I’m loving this song?

Like a lot of the music I’ve been hearing recently, The Hoosiers’ sound is reminiscent of a bygone era, but the overall effect is still fresh and fun. Sparkes is one of those frontmen who can bring a smile to your face – his expressions through the video are priceless.

Speaking of the video, Ray – the subject of the song – is featured as a reclusive geek type who manages to create a bizarre stop-motion cycloptic reptile. The cheesy bit comes at the end where the band slay the creature using their weapons. I’ve never seen a guitar used to fire arrows before ;)

Considering I dismissed a similar band – HelloGoodbye – for being corny and annoying, The Hoosiers’ humor and their music is far more appealing. I’d like to hear a bit more from this band.

[tags]The Hoosiers, 2007[/tags]