(Shock)

Merseyside art-pop splashed with colour

Despite (or maybe because of) their grey UK homeland, Wave Machines quickly reveal themselves to be bright, bubbly art-popsters on new album Wave If You’re Really There. The record gets off to a fairly low-key start with the gentle singalong You Say The Stupidest Things, but the party soon kicks in with the post-punk disco of I Go I Go I GO, fashionable ‘80s-esque dance rock enlivened with a dab of Bow Wow Wow and The Belle Stars. There’s moodier OMD-styled synth-pop in Keep The Lights On and rain-swept folk rock in Punk Spirit, highlighted by frontman Tim Bruzon’s distinctive falsetto. The Greatest Escape We Ever Made is their Hot Chip moment, nerdy but cool pop hooks helping create an infectious track. The title track goes for the swelling, atmospheric effect (and makes it!), while The Line’s white boy groove unleashes the band’s inner Orange Juice (and throws in a bit of Arthur Baker just for good measure). Even at their weirdest, as in the fevered symphonic wash of I Joined A Union, there’s a beauty and a grace to Wave Machine’s pop experiments.

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MATT THROWER

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