I’ll never forget being at a Cinerama gig, thinking (like everyone else there, I expect) that I would rather be at a Wedding Present gig, when they suddenly did 'Getting Nowhere Fast' in the encore. The place went nuts. And you just knew (OK, hoped and prayed) that Wedding Present would return.Then, after an eight-year absence, they did, but the album (2005’s Take Fountain) was a disappointment, sounding like some weird hybrid of the two bands that failed to hit the heights of either. Understandable, I guess, but still a let down. So, while they’ve had a few years extra to practice being the Weddoes again, I approached El Rey with a fair degree of trepidation.The good news is it’s better. It mostly sounds like Wedding Present, the copyright Gedge storytelling is there in spades and the trademark ‘ferocious wank’ guitar thrashing frenzy is in evidence a bit too. That said it’s not the punky George Best-esque riot the old die-hards were gagging for. Half of me says, well, they must be pushing 50, so what do you expect? Then the other half says balls, they can still do it live, so they can still write it. I guess the jury's out. But anyway, the next best thing to that stuff is emanating the mighty Seamonsters, and El Rey - while failing ”“ isn’t too far off the mark.It starts well; the fuzzy, minute-long intro to 'Santa Ana Winds' makes way for the classic boy (well, middle aged man) meets girl storyline; lots of soul searching later, it all goes wrong in a teen mag photo story cliché, and you know you're in Gedge World. 'Spider-Man on Hollywood' is daft and twangy, 'Soup' quirky and loveable, 'Palisades' heartbroken and angry, but the real standout is 'Don't Take Me Home Until I'm Drunk', dripping in pop culture, rich storytelling and tongue-in-cheek humour.Sadly it meanders off near the end, and overall there aren’t enough keepers to make this a great Wedding Present album. But at least gives hope that there may still be one in the tank. 70%[Download The Wedding Present El Ray]Links The Wedding Present [myspace]