LATE OF THE PIER - Most stylish band in pop?

Anyone who knows me will testify about my whole-hearted hate of New Rave, both music and clothes. It's a bit unfair to call LOTP New Rave but that's what many lazy people did when their debut album came out last year. Fantasy Black Channel might have been recorded by a few young, colourful and pill-popping boys, and it might be dance music adored by other kids in a similar age - but that doesn't make it shit. Or New Rave. Or both.

Actually, the record is a mish mash of music styles and tempo. It's a pleasure to listen to because each song surprises you every time and keeps you on your toes. The speed at which these guys throw beats and loops in your face is quite something. 

But to the point. Looking at this picture I'm sure you will agree that LOTP not only is a good band, but also devilishly handsome. I'm not much for pastels and white myself, but I can appreciate a good outfit when I see one. It's probably the work of a stylist, but nevertheless an image of a young band with a good sound and focused look  - not too common these days...

Look out for new material coming our way, apparently a "sunny Joy Division sound"....

Gig and Album Reviews in The Beat Happening #3

Zombie Zombie gig review @ ICA

Album reviews of Land Of Talk, Late Of The Pier and Rose Kemp

LATE OF THE PIER REVIEW

LINK TO LATE OF THE PIER REVIEW ON JC REPORT

www.jcreport.com/intelligence/trash/180808/put-record-late-pier





"To be an album of the times is not always a good thing—if the time is now, then tomorrow it's history. To be timeless, however, is to capture a mood, to mix diverse influences, to write witty lyrics and to push musical boundaries beyond the horizon. North England quartet Late of the Pier have done just that with Fantasy Black Channel. Thanks to help from Erol Alkan—the legendary founder of London's Trash club—this debut album pushes your brain far out into space while kicking it numb with bleeps, loops and beautiful melodies. Alkan's wicked dancefloor expertise shines through, but, still, this is the album for which iTunes invented the "Unclassified" genre.

With the memory of throbbing bands like Hadouken!, Does It Offend You, Yeah? and Klaxons still fresh, this could easily have been written off as another new rave experiment. Fortunately, Late of the Pier come through where others have failed, drawing influence from a dizzying mix of styles then melding them into a unique new sound. Tracks such as "Space and the Woods" and "Focker" are pure (though possibly unintended) pop magic, while "Hot Tent Blues" demonstrates a total disregard for musical logic. Throughout the album they successfully mix melodies with varying fits of anarchy and chart-topping, lyrical nonsense."