Arty, ambitious, adventurous – anyone got some more ‘a’ words? Okay, how about amazing? Late Of The Pier cover so many bases on this fantastic debut that normal superlatives seem somehow grey and uninspired. A case in point: opener proper ‘Broken’ marries stomping punk-funk to falsetto vocals, but manages to seamlessly encompass duelling rock guitars, cod-futuristic keyboard lines and glitching techno. The following ‘Space And The Woods’ is ludicrously infectious, riding the fattest Eighties synths heard since pre-industrial Gary Numan; ‘The Bears Are Coming’ plugs into the current Afro-beat craze, but twists it into myriad disturbing shapes; while current single ‘Heartbeat’ is equal parts new rave and Talking Heads.
Every track here is dripping with invention and pulsing with latent aggression, yet Fantasy Black Channel is anything but inaccessible, and that is where the true brilliance of the album lies. It is, at its heart, a classic pop record, stuffed with memorable hooks and eminently danceable rhythms. 2008 has already seen some cracking debuts; this is right up with the best of them. Lee Gorman
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DOWNLOAD: ‘Heartbeat’, ‘Broken’, ‘Space And The Woods’,
FOR FANS OF: MGMT, Foals, Klaxons.
Posted on: 27th January 2010
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