An obvious statement coming up. A song can be any length, style or speed, and still be good. No matter what genre. There are, however, a few faintly traced guides as to what makes a good song in each. A good prog track, for example, usually requires an ingenious midsection. Something that piques your interest. A good pop song needs mind numbingly good harmonies that never leave your brain.There is a good blend of the fast, slow, long and short in indie music at present, but if you’re going to do it short and simple you better have a bucketload of hooklines to bring to the table; such is the magnitude of bands following this blueprint. Telegraphs are one such act, and their debut album We Were Ghosts is the latest grappling for recognition. Somewhat surprisingly, it flies out of the blocks with a real sense of purpose. 'The Argument' is robust, punchy and full of confidence, and while it isn’t doing anything utterly fresh, plays the hook game very well. Slightly cynical as it may be, from an opener like this you can gather enough to surmise what follows won’t be entirely different. That isn’t necessarily a problem, if you can deliver on your hook quota. This in itself is just as tricky as writing a mixed back of tricks. Only the very best bands survive on this formula, as without the ability to consistently craft those golden lines you are undeniably playing the short game. And despite a decent initial response to this CD (four K’s everyone!), I’d find it very hard to guarentee you anything other than a very short Telegraphs discography. The melodies just aren’t there.It’s not to decry the musicianship as such. The vocal combinations of Darcy Harrison, Hattie Williams and Aung Yay are at times very assuredly and intelligently put together. It was a smart decision to make 'I Don’t Navigate by You' a single, and a chorus with very complimentary vocal layering, that lifts what would be an otherwise sparse instrumentation. This gives it the firm hook, and shows potential.There are strong rhythmic moments in places as well. The drum licks in 'Your First Love is Dead', and pacing of the vocal line in 'We Dance in Slow Motion' (specifically during its second verse) are somewhat fun. There are sections where the band hits upon pleasant and actually quite promising melodies; the tail end of #Forever Never# is hummable for example. 'Exit Station' has a chuggy break that establishes a similarly tuneful groove. The fact I’ve had to root around for such sections is a worry though.The above moments are the real hooks in the record that they could've built better songs around. This isn’t to overdo it and say these sections are great. They are good; melodies that scan nicely. The second rate atypical choruses you hear from so many bands at present are instead what adorn We Were Ghosts. You take a simple chord pattern and make sure all members of the band sing the chorus together, just to really drill it home. I suspect a better band lurks underneath this, one that could learn to craft their finer moments together. Whether Telegraphs will be around long enough to learn from this remains to be seen. 47%Telegraphs on Myspace