"It could be home, it could be home"
I mentioned them briefly when talking about the Arcade Fire show the other night, but I wanted to spend a little bit more time talking about the fantastic opening band, Electrelane. As with many of the most compelling bands I've encountered, it isn't easy to pin these girls down to one sound or pigeon-hole them into one genre. I hear elements of indie-pop, shoegaze, Krautrock, noise, and electronica all thrown into their mix, but it all congeals into a surprisingly cohesive and original whole. Some songs focus in on the retro kitsch vibe, while others coast along on a insistent Kraftwerkian beat before collapsing in a mass of broken guitar strings and drum sticks snapped in half. Check some out for yourself:
Electrelane - "Le Song" (taken from Singles, B-Sides, & Live)
This is one of the Krautrock inspired tunes, speeding along on a persistent beat and organ drones before nearly everything drops out to set up that huge payoff climax with the vocal harmonies. This is one of the songs that perfectly captures what Electrelane is all about.
Electrelane - "To The East" (taken from No Shouts No Calls)
We skip ahead to the first single from their latest album, which seems to find the band at their most sunny and accessible. But what makes this song so great are the instrumental touches - that perky guitar line that repeats throughout and that little nudge into overdrive that occurs with about a minute left. Great stuff.
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