Reading, Writing and Arithmetic by The Sundays

Personnel: Harriet Wheeler (vocals); David Gavurin (guitar); Patrick Hannan (drums). The Sundays emerged at the end of the '80s, with their demeanor and acoustic pop at odds with the house explosion and baggy phenomenon of the time. Despite this, READING, WRITING & ARITHMETIC is as compelling as anything to come out of Manchester or an 808 drum machine. Identified as a female-led version of the Smiths, such comparisons were borne out by the dynamics of the Sundays' central duo and the quality of this debut release. David Gavurin's guitar-playing undoubtedly evokes the unpretentious expression of Johnny Marr, whether gently chiming over "Can't Be Sure," gaily strumming for the coda of "My Finest Hour," or whipping up a racket on "A Certain Someone." Harriet Wheeler's voice is from another world entirely: soaring, pure, acrobatic, doleful, and with a penchant for the self-possessed babbling of Liz Fraser. Where intelligible, the lyrics take Morrissey's conversational style and predilection for colloquialis...