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Once you overcome the nonsense of a band in their mid-20s releasing a best of / compilation after four albums, 'Seven Year Setlist' is actually a pleasant listen.
The View were greeted with a tidal wave of hype when they unveiled early singles like 'Wasted Little DJs' and 'Same Jeans' in 2006. The debut album that followed didn't disappoint either, the infectious indie pop of Hats Off to the Buskers saw the best of both worlds, storming the charts as well as gaining a Mercury nomination.
Since then indie's ability to gatecrash the Top 40 seems to have dwindled a little, but it's nice to see a band with such genuine intentions continue to succeed where others have petered out.
This retrospective tour through The View's studio albums is broken up with three new tracks. 'Kill Kyle' opens the record and is probably the strongest of the trio. 'Dirty Magazine' and 'Standard' also slot well into the compilation, but in all honesty are indie by numbers.
There's a slight niggling feeling that it would have done to use these for an intermediate EP, and this full-length release could be cynically looked upon as a money-making exercise.
But revisiting tracks like 'The Don', 'Shock Horror', and 'Superstar Tradesman' is an enjoyable way to waste a rainy afternoon. The offerings taken from last year's 'Cheeky for a Reason' simply aren't of the same standard, but at no point does the temptation to hit the skip button become too overpowering.
Support slots with The Stone Roses, and the lifting of their US exile following Kyle Falconer's cocaine possession, may well have won The View some new fans over recent months. For those who have indeed arrived late to the party, Seven Year Setlist is an ideal way to get started.
The omissions of early belters like 'Street Lights' and 'Comin' Down' mean it is essential to treat yourself to Hats Off to the Buskers in its entirety to really hear The View at their best. But as guitar-wielding journeys from the mid-noughties to the present day go, this one is good fun.
Does what it says on the tin, and does it well.
