You know, it seems to me that there is always one, then there’s a shit load. In the 80’s in Los Angeles, there was a scene (no pun intended) that did not exist before Guns and Roses. The same could be said for Seattle and Nirvana - you are starting to form the picture. Well, it would also seem that before Arcade Fire, Canada had not produced anything, don’t please tell Alanis, Avril, KD Lang, Rufus and Martha Wainwright, Neil Young, Bryan Adams, Shania Twain or Nickleback for fuck’s sake! Or maybe Canada had not produced anything that the UK’s 21st Century ‘in-crowd’ thought was worth a dime! That’s a different story, I thought music was about… err… music! I love every artist mentioned so far, and I also have a new love affair!

Now if you are a fan of ‘soundscapes’ you will love this album from the moment that the needle hits the groove. If you listen to music with spaces and do not hear them - those nine-minute songs that to you seem like three (to everyone else they just ‘go on a bit’) - well imagine if those songs really were three minutes… Ha, you’re starting to get the picture, and it’s different to the one you saw before, you did see it, yeah? Ok…

So this album comes along with 14 tracks, and… a seven track ep, for nothing! It’s ‘limited edition’ which may make the cynical of you claim it’s a marketing ploy, not for me to comment, because I am already seven tracks into the album and it’s just fucking awesome, in fact it’s better than that, this will be in the top end of Shakenstir’s best of 2006! And it’s only friggin’ January!

Listen up fools! You will like this album. Why? Because you love well crafted, well produced music that says something, while encouraging you to sing along, like ‘proper’ songs – yes, they still exist. I don’t know how many members of this band there are, but ‘an awful lot’ is the closest answer. But unlike Polyphonic Spree there seems to be a reason to it, or at least some resonating resemblance of organised chaos. The music is a beats-heavy, pop-indie, it sounds similar to lots of things, but the same as fuck all else.

They are another band that just plays. Watch them soar out of the box and into the shelves of the homes of not just us music lovers who dig the scene, but also those fuckers who latch on too late. Late is not good enough to have this band on; this band deserves a new radio station, a new music TV show. They are the incoming future of quality, the purveyor of pure sound that can enter through your ears and embed in our brains - leave in theory but never in reality - for some artists have the ability to transcend the mere audio pattern and become part of the way of life. The great bands have something more, something unique, the word we always use is ‘special’ - it deserves to be ‘shaken’!

This record is too good for you, in fact if you are just passing through, looking for the media hype, then get the fuck out. If you are along for the entire ride, ready with open heart, open arms, but most importantly, open ears, we will allow you to listen to this record. The world needs us to believe and promote music that is not the bland, not the same, not the mainstream, infiltrate from the inside.

Oh yeah, the ‘free’ EP that’s a stunning addition to the collection. It has a song called Canada Vs America worth owning just for that. You will get to the end of the album wanting to hear more, it is perfection, because when it stops, you can then listen to the album again, a vicious circle, no, a glorious one. Just buy this fucking record, ok… OK!

5/5

Jj. 2006