Late Of The Pier: Fantasy Black Channel

‘Fantasy Black Channel’ - Late Of The Pier
A review by Ben Hawling

From the haunting epic chords of ‘Hot Tent Blues’, the opening track on Castle Donington band Late Of The Pier’s debut, ’Fantasy Black Channel’ it is clear that the listener is in for a musical treat. In post - Klaxons indie rock, it is hard to find a band that doesn’t follow the generic electronic indie disco beat that walks, or rather flies, hand in hand with the vast layers of imagery that speak of a haunting electronic future. However, even though Late Of The Pier do adopt some of these now standard qualities in their work, they appear to stand high above the competition in terms of musicality, the use of alternative time signatures (see ‘VW’ and ‘Bathroom Gurgle’) and experimentation. This has been achieved due to the bands evident desire to be different but also down to the handy work of super producer Erol Alkan, who is a key player in the album‘s distinctly unique direction on electronica. For example, the single ‘The Bears Are Coming’, which despite having the air of Hot Chip about it, still delivers an interesting take on the electro-pop genre, through the use of an array of instruments (including what sounds like a coffee mug) forming a catchy dance track. Further elements of experimentation can be found in tracks such as ‘Broken’, ‘The Enemy Are The Future’, ‘Bathroom Gurgle’ (which has already been snapped up and remixed by many a DJ) and the immediate indie disco favourite ‘Heartbeat’. It is in this particular rock - pop gem that lead singer Samuel Eastgate snarls in true indie form, “Emotion you cannot define, 20th century shine” which sums up the exact message and affect of ‘Fantasy Black Channel’ on the listener, in terms of the distorted yet technical imagery that feeds the emotion to the work. Fans of bands such as Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand and The Strokes will relish in the thrashy and smile inducing guitar riffs and bouncy beats on this album , but will also be left with the craving for more epic and diverse sound scapes that Late Of The Pier manage to deliver. An album of 2008 definitely worth catching!!!