Official Secrets Act – Understanding Electricity
This nugget of information was posted on 27/02/09 at 7:09 pm by Simon and is filed under Album, Reviews.
It really grabs you by the nuts this record. It took me some time to listen to Understanding Electricity in its entirety as I was forever skipping back to the start to enjoy the first three tracks again. Mainstream, So Tomorrow and The Girl From The BBC catapult you in with driving basslines and drums and are as confident and fully formed an example of guitar pop as you are likely to hear this year.
Things change pace thereafter and a cocktail of different influences raise their heads. The Cureish baselines and well judged arrangements and instrumentation continue as different era’s compete for attention. A bit of Byrds/Jefferson Airplane here, some Talking Heads art school oddness there, with some gorgeous REM like backing vocals thrown in for good measure. But it wears it’s influences lightly. It’s respectful nods all round.
Slap bang in the middle are two tunes that weave their way along with changes in pace and different movements. I was initially resistant to their charms but was eventually won over by the gorgeous breakdown and change of vocal in the last couple of minutes of Momentary Sanctuary.
A confident, modern debut then, bristling with energy and ideas. And loads of great pop songs.
From me that’s a well earnt 8.5/10
Had a listen? What did you think?
(5 votes, average: 9.00 out of 10)
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February 27th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Got to agree Si, this is a blinding debut by any standards and would be a great album by a longer established band. My personal favourites are “Little Birds” and “Hold The Line” but nothing on it disappoints.