Review Summary: Disco-core, a calculated, razor sharp insight into modern Britain. Dance 'til you cry, then dance some more.
This band make me so goddamn hot it's unbelievable. Formed in Leeds in 2004, this band quickly started writing joyous disco rock with an oddly hardcore twist to their sound. Their initial set of demos (Collectively comprising tracks One through to Seven) proved they were a force to be reckoned with.
Signed to the label Dance To The Radio (who gave us The Pigeon Detectives, for better or worse) they recieved genuine enthusiasm and attention from many reviewers with this release, but never quite caught the attentions of the wider audience they deserve.
This album contains re-recordings and re-working of some tracks from their early demos (shamefully not the blisteringly powerful Six) but majoritarily new songs. Opener Thirteen is energetic, building to a soaring sing-along chorus, filled with frantic drumming and awesomely simplistic yet piercingly effective guitar trade-offs.
Fifteen Pts 1 & 2 are spread out but have a beautiful resonance with each other, completing perfectly in a way rarely seen with two part songs. Arguably weaker than the original demo track Five, I highly recommend comparing the way in which the band moulded the original track into this sprawling epic.
Nineteen, the slowest track on the album is a beautiful, atmospheric synth led track that grows into a breathtaking motion of floating guitars and synth-lines with an affecting, gorgeous vocal line.
The album ends with Eleven, and it's crescendo of 3/4 rythms and soaring guitars, before turning to calculated, minimalist ambience that develops into a haunting, powerful, emotionally driven whirlwind.
Whilst they lose the complicated time signatures and raw, stripped down recording quality of their early demos (to it's detriment in my opinion) this album is still an addictive, sometimes catchy, sometimes brutal work, whose only fault is over-production. If you enjoy the choppy guitars and drum-machine beats of early Bloc Party, or the angry passion of many post-rock bands, I highly recommend seeking this album out, you won't be disappointed. It combines hooks and choruses with genuine heartfelt fury, to produce an album little short of amazing. The use of 3/4 time signatures for their most affecting sections combined with straight 4/4 dance-beats elevates them above all other "Dance-rock" bandwagoneers.
This Message Edited On 09.26.07
