Norwich indie boys Alto45 are a band after my own heart. They describe their sound as “trying to make music that bridges the gap between the unassuming beauty of Daniel Johnston and Darren Hayman and the electronic madness of Add N to (X) and Hardfloor“. It’s no wonder they were so feted by the late, great John Peel.
There’s a great home-made feel to this record; not in a crap way but in a way that makes you think of a band bubbling away in their lair, dressed in their trademark lab coats, creating the sounds that they want to create and releasing the sounds they want to release. This is how John Peel (the god of music) intended for it to be created. A wholly democratic process not lead by or reliant upon record labels, radio stations or national, mainstream press.
Alto45 create an electro-lead indie sound but not one reliant or built using laptops and modern technology, no not Alto45. In fairness you worry that such technology hasn’t reached Norfolk yet and it’s done in the belief that this is cutting edge stuff rather than a nostalgia for days when hair was bigger, Liverpool were good at football and the internet didn’t exist.
‘The Spectrum Sings’ was produced by Owen Turner of Magoo, a band who once tried to reshape my head following a review I wrote that wasn’t entirely complimentary. Don’t worry though, I’ve forgotten all about it.
The album jolts to life with ‘The Robot Heart’ which is a nice slice of indie pop, centred around a driving bassline, with James Boyce’s awkward Hefner-esque vocals over the top. It’s a joy. The rest of the record follows a similar pattern of bass, vocals, guitars and synths and creates quite an enjoyable sound. That’s it though, it’s just quite enjoyable. With Darren Hayman’s voice you ignore it because he holds you in with his unlucky-in-love schtick, Boyce doesn’t quite manage that and so after 11 or so songs it starts to grate.
Ultimately the record’s lack of variation leads to a rather unmemorable album. Immediately after hearing it I can barely remember hum a tune. Maybe you like that, I guess it’s better than the mug at work who hums something awful only for it to stick in your head for the next 72 hours. Buy this record, just don’t expect to remember it!
‘The Spectrum Sings’ is out now
