Denton, Texas-based quartet The Zest Of Yore cheerfully source any number of psych/power-pop reference points whilst remaining a frustratingly neither-here-nor-there affair. Their gangly indie sheen is initially pleasant and amiable, floating a waddlesome, mid-paced major-chord guitar jangle gleaned from the likes of The Beatles, The Posies, Big Star, Guided By Voices and even It's A Shame About Ray-era Lemonheads. However, while such comparisons might suggest ringing, chiming melodies and brain-plaguing choruses, many of the songs here do little but drift aimlessly into the background.

There's some neat, Grandaddy-like structural tricksiness on the likes of "A Cultivated Sensibility" or "I'll Do The Thinking", and the performances throughout are indeed suggestive of a more-than-capable bunch of players, but an array of key/tempo changes and an ability to keep time are no substitute for the uninhibited joys of a memorable tune. Sadly, Admit That It's Christmas lacks gut-grabbing melodies; we're left with sonically polite but ultimately generic indie-pop.