Review Summary: placing art-pop's flag on the face of mainstream success
Everything Everything continue their trend of growing exponentially between releases with their best yet, “Get To Heaven”. The band build upon their 2013 album “Arc” by somehow managing to write songs that are even catchier than previous crowd pleasers “Kemosabe” and “Cough Cough”. New singles “Regret” and “Distant Past” trump the aforementioned with regard to catchiness and overall craftsmanship and both showcase the step-up in quality on album 3 “Get To Heaven”.
Although catchy, the songs do not lack depth. Heavy subject matter is paired with catchy hooks from the very beginning, with harrowing subjects like Ebola, the missing Malaysian aeroplane and the rise of racist political party UKIP disguised by the upbeat nature Jonathon Higg’s vocal delivery. It’s only later that you realise that you were unknowingly dancing along to a song about an ISIS beheading, (track 1, To The Blade). Or when you catch yourself singing the lyric “I’m going to kill a stranger, so don’t be a stranger” (track 10, No Reptiles).
The album has the polished sheen of pop production thanks to Stuart Price, who is also responsible for material by The Killers and Madonna. This is no bad thing however, as the cleanliness of the production allows for each of the bands much-loved quirks and intricacies to be heard. There is always a worry that a band will need to forfeit their individuality in order to continue progression however, Everything Everything’s weird side has in no way been suppressed in order to gain more mainstream success.
Frontman Jonathon Higgs is without a doubt the bands key contributor, with his lyrical skill and of course, his impressive falsetto and vocal range. However it is important to mention bassist Jeremy Pritchard who underpins the entire album with innovative bass lines that make the album as “danceable” as it is. Both Higgs and Pritchard are the main reason that “Regret” is such a brilliant single and that “The Wheel” and “Spring / Sun / Winter / Dread” are album highlights.
This album builds on the previous success of Everything Everything’s current discography and sets to place art-pop’s flag on the face of mainstream success by skilfully balancing lyrical depth, catchy music and a healthy amount of weird.
