Elephant – Assembly EP

22 November 2011

Elephant - Assembly

I don’t really want to call Elephant (facebook) a band. They are in all intents and purpose a band but they deserve more recognition than that. A band brings images of bearded men drinking, sorry slurping, bottles of crap American beer standing with their imitation Gibsons and just generally being loud and sweaty. They’re too refined and minimalist for that. Instead I’m going to call them a ‘duo’. It’s ok, I’m ready to accept the label of ‘pretentious wanker’ for that paragraph. Elephant are a duo. Glad that’s sorted.

So, Elephant are synth pop with a lead singer who apparently hails from somewhere between Pontefract and France. Cosmopolitan. I like it. It might not be such a coincidence that they’re named after The White Stripes’ fourth album, Elephant, either. In fact it makes complete and logical sense; Amelia Rivas and Christian Pinchbeck’s relationship is as frustratingly ambiguous as our dear old friends Jack and Meg.

Although not on their E.P, Assembly, and I don’t know why not, Ants is the best track from these two. It combines all the charm of the Parisian walkways with accordion like synthesisers and love beaten lyrics, which Rivas sings with such candid fragility. Atmospheric and bass-ridden track, Wolf’s Cry, is another that really showcases both the haunting quality of Rivas’ vocals and lyrics. The words do make you wonder whether Rivas and Pinchbeck had a romance in the past and maybe even the present. They understand and complement each other musically in a way that suggests so but who am I to probe?

The E.P doesn’t really stray far from the futuristic synthesiser, swooping vocals formula. At Twilight offers a more robust, shoegaze feel. Full to the brim with shrill guitars and dainty piano this will be a great album closer. Hopeless is definitely a track that will fill the indie electro disco dancefloor in the next coming months. All in all, Elephant have made a mature and refined entrance. Let’s hope the confidence and quality remains.

[BUY] Elephant – Assembly EP @ Bandcamp| Amazon | iTunes

Elephant – Assembly by elephanttheband
Elephant – Ants by elephanttheband

The Sound of Arrows – Voyage

By: Carrow

21 November 2011

In: News & Leaks, Reviews

0 comments

The Sound Of Arrows - Voyage

First things first: by a large margin, this is the best pop album of the year. I don’t usually sum up my reviews so early into writing them, but I thought it’d be better for me to make that perfectly clear as soon as I could. I’ve lost count of the amount of times the words ‘electro-pop’ and ‘Swedish’ have appeared in the same sentence in a new music feature this year, but Voyage destroys all the competition. None of their compatriots are doing their electro-pop thing nearly as well as The Sound of Arrows (facebook/twitter).

What makes Voyage immediately stand out from the crowd is that it is not the clichéd ‘thrown-together’ debut album. This record is a complete, flowing piece of work, displaying both the widescreen qualities of film music and hard-hitting lyrical themes. This album is literally an escapist pop record, detailing, as it does, the journey of two people who decide to run away from the lives they have and recreate themselves.

I feel like I should mention that this album has resonated strongly with me on a personal level, but I’m going to get away from that for a moment and say that these eleven songs work just as well as separate entities. There is a narrative thread running through the record, but that’s also reflected in how Voyage is structured. The motif that acts as a prelude to Into the Clouds resurfaces in Lost City, and Magic and The Longest Ever Dream are, lyrically speaking, two sides of the same coin.

Without a doubt, this is the single most euphoric album I’ve heard this year. It’s managed to earn a place in my heart for a number of reasons, not the least of which being that it displays songcraft that other groups of this ilk would kill for; even Conquest, which I think is the weakest (relatively speaking) song on the album, is still a cut above its competitors. With songs like the dazzling Wonders, the spine-tinglingly epic There Is Still Hope, and Nova, which can accurately be described as ‘absolutely massive’, The Sound of Arrows set themselves exceptionally high standards that they did an extremely good job of maintaining.

Broadly speaking, this is all killer and no filler. This Stockholm-based duo have put a startling amount of thought and effort into their debut, and while their borderline-relentless positivity will not be everyone (the light contained in the melodies is brought into contrast by a degree of darkness in the lyrics), I dare say that if you can’t get some sort of enjoyment out of an album as life-affirming as this, you’re a curmudgeon. At the very least, it’ll make you feel something, and albums that provoke and emotive response from the listener are to be cherished, especially when they are as downright amazing as this one.

Voyage was released on November 7th through Skies Above

[BUY] The Sound Of Arrows – Voyage @ Amazon | Piccadilly | iTunes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK0_PVaF8Pg

The Sound Of Arrows – Wonders
Brightside (The Sound of Arrows Remix) by The Knocks

PopJustice have got the full album stream.

The Juliets – Perfect Season

By: Carrow

19 November 2011

In: News & Leaks, Reviews

0 comments

The Juliets - Perfect Season
There are very few album covers around nowadays that are adorned with an invitation. The Juliets (facebook/twitter) make sure to set out their stall from the off with ‘stay as long as you like’, because even before the first song on Perfect Season is finished, it’s clear that the listener is faced with an album so enjoyable that they’ll be ‘staying’ for quite a while.

The Michigan band’s new album is their second, and I can’t imagine there are very many people out there who will fail to be charmed by their classical-tinged, orchestral pop sound. Loon and Heart in Heart open proceedings with a dramatic flair that is all their own, chock-full of hooks and insistent melodies but never once becoming too busy or convoluted. Releasing an album full of songs like that, this late in the year, can only be called something of a masterstroke, because they will help to ward off the winter for a while longer, and I’m sure we can all appreciate that.

All twelve songs on Perfect Season are musically accomplished, something brought into contrast by frontman Jeremy Freer’s easy-going lyrical style. All the elements present on the album – soaring and swooping strings, an extremely tight rhythm section, and, every now and then, some tinkling piano (as showcased on Hey Stars and Only You) – gel with each other to great effect.

The classical overtones evident on Perfect Season become more prominent on the second half of the album, with the piano-led instrumental The Lost Memory sounding it could have been plucked straight from the 19th century, such is the Romantic-era feel that it radiates. It stands out on the album, not because it manages to stick out like a sore thumb, but because it’s an unquestionably beautiful listen, and one of the finest things I’ve heard all year.

Not many bands would dare to place a piece like that right next to a pure pop song the likes of It’s Simple, but the two work extremely well together. I would in fact go as far to say that, on their own, the pair manage to sum up Perfect Season better than I ever could: the album is pleasingly diverse (you wouldn’t think Why Should I? could fit into a record like this, but it reveals itself as one of the record’s highlights over time), and is one of the most enjoyable I’ve heard in quite some time. This band know exactly what they want to be, and are displaying themselves in a manner that is audacious and extremely refreshing.

[BUY]The Juliets – Perfect Season

Loon
Heart In Heart by The 405
A Perfect Season by The 405
(Thanks to The 405 for the streams)