A very cool album which takes America and makes it English, surprisingly well
That's just a bit too twee that lyric: "The beep of a till/Collecting our nectar we have bags to be filled." Still, that off my chest this is Dave House, not to be confused with Dave Couse the Irish monolith of Couse and The Impossible; and he's pretty cool really, playing acoustic Blink-style, early ATDI (Acrobatic Tenement-early)-like songs, which is nice in its idea alright. The album takes you through swings and roundabouts lyrically; through some words, lines and stanzas that tickle, some words, lines and stanzas that niggle, but musically it hits all the right buttons.
It's a good soft album too, with some livelier rocking tracks, there's a certain feeling that this man knows his music and is using his knowledge well and his daring inclusion of some ultra-modern references, e.g. "Our friends and music tastes have changed/But when you told me you liked The Klaxons/I just briefly had to walk away", will split people down the middle, exciting some, dismaying others. Which is always a good thing. 'Atlantis to Interzone' is a clever title... but I think I'd walk too, Dave.
Mr. House has been jetting around with Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly and just prior to this he released a split with Mr. Duckworth which included two tracks that now appear on here, the very delicious, bubble-gummy 'Trafalgar Square To Anywhere' and the fun jig of 'Shiver', like a country-electro slice of children's TV in an adult's word, if that doesn't make any sense it's reminiscent of The Boy Least Likely To.
Certainly by the end of this album, which is when it gets a bit serious and sombre with the piano-led, Graham Coxon-esque 'See That No One Else Escapes' you know you've been onto a winner from the start, though at the start you may not have known it...
From 'All D's, No Future' which is similar in style to Brand New or +44 to 'Carry You' with its cool organ intro that's bluesy and heartfelt-nod-worthy, incorporating a bit of Gorillaz alongside some Postal Service and displaying the ability to make you raise an eyebrow, the tracks included on this record have taken all that's good about American alternative pop music and given it an English spin, the results are surprisingly lovely.
So, whether or not you take exception to someone coyly name-dropping 'Nectar points', if you keep listening, you'll like, trust me. From nearly pulling the CD I'm now adding it to my elitist ipod. That's saying something!