'Manchester, so much to answer for' sang Steven Patrick Morrissey on 'Suffer Little Children'. Whilst probably not referring directly to The Courteeners (officially the worst band name since Limp Bizkit) it does, in light of St Jude, seem remarkably prescient. The Courteeners crashed on to the Manchester scene in 2007; four likely lads ready to be the saviours of indie music and the next bright sparks to come out of the sleeping giant of a city. Their calling card was 'Cavorting', a single about idiot girls on pills. Or something. The single sold out instantly and the band was soon picked up by major label, Polydor.

Singer Liam Fray has regularly lamented the ten years or so that Manchester has been remarkably quiet musically and sees his band as an antidote to these barren times. Whilst name checking the likes of Oasis, The Stone Roses and The Happy Mondays as markers for the greatness he hopes to achieve, Fray also has a mouth on him that has seen him mentioned in the same breath as another Liam, one of Manchester's favourite sons. Both The Enemy and Richard Archer of Hard-FI have come in for a slagging from Fray, but is he just all mouth and no trousers?

The inherent problem with the Courteeners is in the sheer mediocrity of it all. When Liam Gallagher harped on about being the biggest band in the world, you believed him, because in his brother's songs he had the quality to back it up. When Liam Fray makes similar quotes that seem to be obligatory these days for new bands, nobody takes any notice. The reason for this is that the Courteeners don't have the songs to be making such statements. The album is a plod through 12 (13 if you count the 'bonus' track) songs about birds, love, Manchester and other such hot topics. Sub Alex Turner lyrics often become cringeworthy: 'do you remember that time I raised my voice because you said you'd never heard of the La's?' Fray sings on 'Please Don't', possibly in a bid to show how in touch he is with the bands that he so wants to emulate. His voice has more in common with Doherty than Gallagher, a kind of drunken lollop over his words that only goes to highlight the inadequacies of the band when put up against an outfit with a bit of spark. It would be unfair to say that this album won't have it's fans as it is certain to find an audience with some folk - there are enough choruses to sing along to walking home from the pub at closing time and the lad-rock formula has proved popular in the shape of The Pigeon Detectives et al. However, if Fray wants to deliver on his prophecies of greatness, he's going to have to give us something a hell of a lot more appealing than this turgid effort.