(Etch’n’Sketch)

Multi-national London popsters debut impressively

Comprised of members from Italy, Hong Kong, Toronto, and the UK, Sunny Day Sets Fire must be one of the most international acts currently calling London home. Their debut EP for Etch’n’Sketch opens with the wildly addictive Brainless – quite possibly the giddiest and enjoyable pop song I’ve heard this year. It’s a genuine stand-alone quirk-pop gem, all parping brass and chintzy keyboard riffs with singalong vocals. Remaining tracks Wilderness, Nations Underground and Green Clouds reveal a deeper side to the band, Chinese erhu giving the latter two songs a haunting Eastern hue. Wilderness retains a pop sheen, but has a dramatic tone that safely rescues it from accusations of tweeness. It’s the type of colourful and inventive take on indie pop that would have the Flaming Lips nodding in appreciation, and seems so perfectly formed as a first release that it promises even better things yet to come.

TOPHER HEALY

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