ALBUM REVIEWS
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ALBUM REVIEWS |
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Official Secrets Act
UNDERSTANDING ELECTRICITY ONE LITTLE INDIAN 30.3.09 @www.vanguard-online.co.uk
Taking the sound of Dogs Die In Hot Cars, Rakes, The Departure and various other trendy art-rock Indie bands of recent times and blending them with electro-dance trickery, Official Secrets Act’s debut album is both surprising and thought-provoking. Across the album, several facts become clear. (1) The band use a choral sound as the basis for most tracks, then go in search of a different musical genre to apply it to. (2) This proves to vary the album track by track and make each offering that little bit different. (3) This does not always produce a song that you would bother with again. (4) But it usually does. I’ll get my lowlights out of the way first for a change, because I genuinely believe this band have got something. In amongst the various styles and subjects lie two tracks that simply let the side down: “Hold The Line” is jaunty but unremarkable while “A Head For Herod”, covering a weighty 6:27 running time, is styled to feel like a tune of Olde England, but doesn’t work and feels lacklustre. On the plus side, the other nine tracks are all contenders. The album opener, “Mainstream” is a standout track, with its infectious and difficult to capture drumbeat that I still cannot imitate. First single “So Tomorrow” has a raw lyrical sound and a catchy chorus, while its follow-up “The Girl From The BBC” is funky in an ‘80s way, with a repetition of “I like her / she likes me” reflecting a shift in the narrating character from confidence to paranoia: over time it seems to shift from a statement into a question. Official Secrets Act have two default musical genres, as, in addition to the Indie, they dabble with electro elements, and enjoy mixing the two. “Momentary Sanctuary” opens with wet, pounding bass, before the electronica elements are faded up, much as in “Bloodsport”, which feels like an Indie reworking of a trance classic – this will be a definite lighters in the air gig moment. Album closer “Under The Flightpath” ducks away from the choral vocals – Indie/electro crossover, as we find simple female vocals over a 70’s chillout track – complete with plucked, flat guitar & light cymbals. What I found with this album was totally different to my expectations: not least because, given the band’s name, I was expecting something much closer to the rave scene and not at all containing guitars. Having heard it several times in the car, it took until I sat down and paid it my full attention to properly realise how good it was. This is an album that you have to buy in to, to understand the genre and the message that the tracks purvey. But then, considering the title of the album, it’s not just about one genre; it’s about mixing what you like and understanding electricity. More Official Secrets Act on Vanguard Online: Live Review www.myspace.com/officialsecretsact |
