Electrelane — The Power Out
Electrelane, who hail from Brighton (UK), have no need for the golden touch of Albini to enhance their music, as their magnificent debut album has proven. The Power Out sees them shifting away from the epic-length, mostly instrumental tracks that dominated their firstborn towards a more song-oriented approach. Most bands only learn to appreciate the value of good songwriting when it is already too late, so it is to Electrelane's advantage that they have made this step so early in their career. The band members, who are still relatively young (guitarist Mia Clarke, who is a regular contributor to The Wire magazine, turned 21 this year), display a maturity that belies their actual age.
But The Power Out is a powerful and beautiful album regardless of the age of its composers and players. The songs, firmly rooted in a tradition of avant rock that goes back at least as far as the Farfisa-drenched sounds of Neu!, embrace influences that range from the expected (Sonic Youth) to the unpredictable. Songwriting often follows deceptively simple, repetitive patterns, with a leading role for a variety of analogue synthesizers, played by Verity Susman, which manage to make some tracks sound like they are from the 1970s, while giving others a distinct 1980s taste. Add to this some very delicate guitar playing and motorik drumming, and the end result is a band that should appeal to anyone who has a weak spot for music that refuses to distance itself from the past, while at the same time sounding entirely contemporary. A welcome deviation comes in the form of The Valleys, which features an exquisite arrangement for choir that reminds one of the atmosphere Kate Bush was able to create using similar techniques on the superb Hello Earth from her acclaimed 1985 album Hounds of Love. It is a pity the band decided not to include their wonderfully understated cover of Bruce Springsteen's I'm on Fire for additional surprise value.
Electrelane are increasingly recognized as an original addition to the avant rock canon. They have recently supported The Ex on a tour of the United States, and are set to record their third album soon, once again relying on Steve Albini for the engineering duties. While their potential has not been fully realized yet, the results displayed so far makes one anxiously looking forward to it.