Everything Everything

Arc

Written by: JWM on 02/09/2013 20:02:52

Everything Everthing is a British indie pop band with a very intricate love of texture. "Texture" in one word epitomises a majority of their new album "Arc", as there is far more instrumentation on this record than what four men should be able to produce. But regardless they soldier on with this their second album, with an attitude more far facetious than Bowling For Soup.

The facetiousness of "Arc" is manifested perfectly in the glitchy hit-single of "Cough Cough" opening the album and using a sample of singer Jonathan Higgs choking "Yeah /So /Um /Wait a second" and things get a little weird after guitar-orientated rock tune "Torso Of The Week". From the romantic chords of the string quartet in "Duet", the acoustic lead of "Feet For Hands" and the theatrical, spoken word drive of "Undrowned" the five track middle of this album sounds like the band is reaching for a broad array of influences.

The poppier approach is resurrected just in time to keep you gripped with "Armourland" and its rhythmically unconventional verses and a synth-driven indie pop chorus. Yet once again the band recedes back into an unconventional nature with the The Antlers-inspired indie folk tempo of "The House Is Dust", which brings a serenity to the album, while the beautiful "Radiant" reminds you of the art rock vibe of "Viva La Vida" era-Coldplay. The closer "Don't Try" acts as more single material for the band with a weirdly catchy chorus.

I found Higgs vocals to be ones you either loved or hated, his driving desire to hit highs I felt he couldn't hit resulting in an odd similarity to Mika. However, there are moments where he goes deeper with his voice that work out quite well. I also think that if you want to be a band with any association to pop, you have to have more songs you would comfortably release as singles, and I feel this band has yet to figure out how to write a pop song within their own signature style. However they also seem to be very good musicians who write some interesting and gripping hooks.

Despite not being a massive fan of this style of music, I found "Arc" quite captivating. It's a very diverse record which acted as a very surprising listen for someone who though it would be straight up indie pop, as there are definite new wave, electronic rock and progressive rock influences surging through it. I can really understand why this band is popular; they're synthy, they're catchy and the guy has a high voice, which fits perfect in the British indie scene. So if you're looking for a record which is as catchy and as diverse as it is weird then the short of it is that you should definitely listen to "Arc".

7

Download: Duet, Armourland, Radiant
For The Fans Of: Coldplay, Delphic, Foals
Listen: Everything Everything's facebook

Release Date 14.01.2013
RCA Records

Related Items | How we score?
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

Legal

© Copyright MMXXIV Rockfreaks.net.