The Album Cover 'Above the City' by Club 8.
‘Exquisite indie pop bliss’
The indie pop band formed in 1995 and later signed to the Spanish record label Siesta, they later signed to the record label Labrador. They are both originally from a small village in the south of Sweden but since their early success they had performing in New York City in 1999 they began to tour the world and they have performed in places such as Brazil and Tokyo and they are planning on playing in the UK this summer.
Their last album ‘The People’s Record’ was one of the top 10 albums for 2010 and received outstanding reviews including a review from Pitchfork naming their album ‘Exquisite indie pop bliss’ and Q complementing their ‘Ravishing pretty melodies.’ The metro also rated their album as four stars and commented by saying the music had ‘Deliciously bittersweet guitar melodies’, BBC music claimed that ‘The People’s Record’ was the summer album of the year 2010.
Their latest album 'Above the City' is due to be released tomorrow and the band released the first single ‘Kill Kill Kill’ in January as a teaser for the fans. Pitchfork has already weighed in with their opinion on the single calling it ‘their most hypnotic single yet.’
After listening to ‘Above the City’, I found that their music was extremely unique to any other indie pop that I have listened too. Their music is a mixture of upbeat rhythms, melancholic melodies and breathy vocals but also has a tinge of an 80’s influence. On their latest album 'Above the City', the CD is full of trip hop beats which adds a diverse contrast to music usually associated in this particular genre.
I found the placement of an instrumental on track eleven and the two interludes at track 5 and track 9 rather unusual because I felt that it didn’t really blend well with the rest of the album, for me it seemed a little misplaced and slightly pointless. However, I did have a few favourite tracks on the album and they were ‘Stop Taking My Time’ and ‘A Small Piece of Heaven’ which reminds me of some of Madonna’s past tracks. The CD is definitely a mixture of unusual music but might not be to everyone’s taste.
I am definitely intrigued by their choice of instruments, beats and lyrics and out of curiousity, Iwill be listening to some of their older albums. I disliked a few of the tracks on the album but overall I did like the pretty melodies and upbeat rhythms that reminded me of the likes of Cyndi Lauper and Madonna in their early years. I don’t think this CD was my kind of music but for music lovers who like a song with a good beat and a slight overuse of reverb then the band Club 8 is for you. Their new album ‘Above the City’ is out tomorrow.
Above the City album rating ***