Electrelane’s experiments in sound diversity

Waft is a nice word: (v) to carry or be carried gently on or as if on the air or water; (n) the act or an instance of wafting; something, such as a scent, carried on the air; a sound, odour etc, faintly perceived.

Electrelane’s second disc, ‘The Power Out’, is a sparsely textured masterpiece with dense moments that punctuate the beauty of instrumentation mixed with intelligent use of voices and imagery. Intricate rhythms are woven into gorgeous melodies that form a diverse fabric: from the quickening pop-jollity of the opening ‘Gone Under Sea’, to the Gang Of Four’s Andy Gill-esque guitar of ‘On Parade’ with its banshee-like vocal to the folk-cum-musical-stroke-ethno-spirituality of communally (Chicago choir) sung ‘The Valleys’…

Imagine, that was only the third track and the remaining eight are as delightful as… the first shag. [Without apprehension, this time, ‘though.] Recorded and mixed in three weeks, under the production of the legendary Steve Albini, it sounds brave, raw and amateurish… Not naïve, but it retains some dilettante-spirit that makes it more punk than all the Blinks and Sums.

‘The Power Out’ perfectly fit’s the schizophrenic times we live in - under a siege of a terrorist threat that is countered by mind-numbing Hollywood movies and home-grown pop-crap - sound tracking the early 21st Century. Drawing influence from disparate acts such as Sonic Youth, Velvet Underground, The Stooges, Au Pairs, Hovercraft, Electrelane surpass influences with ease to experiment a sound all of their own.

Four-piece girl group - Verity Susman (vox, keys, guitar, sax), Mia Clarke (gtr), Rachel Dalley (bs) and Emma Gaze (dms) - was formed in 1998 in Brighton and have survived line-up changes and shambolic gigs to become one of the most invigorating bands in the UK. Coming after Britpop and Riot Grrrl, Electrelane set their own agenda and their mission is to drop sonic episodes of great revitalizing powers.

Highlights: ‘Take The Bit Between Your Teeth’, ‘Love Builds Up’, ‘Only One Thing Is Needed’. Their sound and attitude is best noted by lyrics that are sung in French, Spanish, German and English, saxophone blasts and dynamics… An album for people who believe it is worth staying up for salad and skins during the long winter nights.

There is something intangible, phantomique, hypnotic and utterly spellbinding on ‘The Power Cut’. It sounds like low on budget but high on imagination!

9/10