Heartbeat Underground

Description

Laurel Collective were recently highlighted as one of the best bands in London by ex-Dummy editor (now Dazed Digital editor), Charlie Jones. The comment was coincidental with the unveiling of a unique documentary by Poppie Sköld which managed to beautifully demonstrate the reality of a being a post-hype band.

Formed in 2005, theyve had a string of smaller releases on notable indies, played with the likes of The XX, The Maccabees and Micachu & The Shapes, and yet still remain underground. This has not deterred the band from an unrivaled involvement in UK music their Festival In The Woods has become a key platform for future successes, featuring acts such as Lianne La Havas, Anna Calvi, The Invisible and Lucy Rose. Not only that, drummer Charlie Andrew, who works as a producer/engineer, spent much of 2012 producing Alt-Js Mercury Prize winning album An Awesome Wave.

Laurel Collective are fond of close harmonies, closer squelch, and pop hooks you could hang huge, winter coats off. They seem to spring from a point where, lit by a warm, spring sun, The Flaming Lips left off, and jumped free. They also have two front-men, and an album full of songs about fizzing blood and barnacles, wind-up Japanese toys and jelly birds, yellow moons and droids, songs that are so radio-friendly theyre practically hugging the airwaves. Heartbeat Undergrounds shimmering titular album opener is a nod in the rhythmic direction of Grizzly Bear and later LCD Soundsystem. Blissful Sunshine Buddy follows with ooh-ahhs, wahs and even bahs before its possessed by a psychedielic freakout. They Hate Me and upcoming single Fax Of Death fizz, gurgle and shimmer while tracks such as Window and Cheap are works of discordant, electronic madness.

The album ends with the two-part Fizzing Blood where zither samples and sub-bass drive us towards the dead air. Laurel Collective are a little strange, a little peculiar, and pop music incarnate, epitomising intelligent music at its best: a witty, diverse and modern take on the indie genre. Heartbeat Underground is the debut full-length from Laurel Collective, and is now also available on limited edition LP in addition to the standard CD version originally released in the summer of 2012.

If you imagine Metronomy as the uncle of 2011s bizarre pop uprising, Laurel Collective are undoubtedly a disobedient, prep-schooled cousin; their music a well organized chaos of bleeps, melodies and arrangements in disarray. A beautiful disorder from a frantically exciting young band. The Fly

A suitably LSD-coated dose of manga-pop. Beautifully mental. Artrocker Joyous guitar-driven pop Notion

Perfect balance between experimentation and pop sensibilities Clash

Intelligent, busy, well-meant psychedelic-pop The Word

Engrossing Q

Quirkily good stuff Loud And Quiet

A very fine debut album DIY Magazine