Alphabeat "The Spell"
This is Alphabeat. I have dug this band for awhile now, ever since I caught wind of them from touring on the festival circuit in the UK and Europe. Their first album (albums? I seem to have two different versions with slightly different tracklisting’s and sequencing) is definitely classic, in particular “Fascination”, “10,000 Nights” and “Boyfriend”. Those songs are close to flawless in my opinion, and I can’t imagine anyone that doesn’t like MUSIC in general not enjoying them.
Their sound kinda reminds me of Taylor Dayne, in particular this song. I’m not saying they sound EXACTLY like her, but their music kinda gives me the same vibe as hers. They are much more versatile though. They’re an entire band, not just a solo act. They also have two singers, a guy and a girl, so you get that great guy vs. girl dynamic between them as well as variety in the primary voice. And I really love a pop/dance outfit that uses instruments, writes their own music, and doesn’t try too hard.
Alphabeat has managed to fly somewhat under the radar, especially here in the US - that’s probably because you can’t get their album on iTunes. It’s hard to gauge the rest of the world, but it seems they haven’t really hit it big over in Europe either, which is where they’re from. Even with these 3 fantastic singles which have got a lot of DJ / club spins, I think the band has managed to remain mostly unknown. NOTE: popjustice loves them and gives them their due praise. Props to them, and to the fantastic allmusic.com blog for also taking note.
That all seems kind of strange to me, they seem to have the perfect formula to really blow up. Even moreso right now that it is “hip” to like POP music. I actually hate this phenomenon and will blog about it very soon.
Anyway, they have a new single which is just as flawless and fantastic as their earlier work. It’s called The Spell, and the video shows them dressed in the fashion of 80’s era Bowie / the B-52’s. The song is just incredible though. The video isn’t overdone with lame effects or neon or anything gimmicky like that, it’s mostly just a polished view of them performing, which in conjunction with a great song is all you need. Check it out:
I’m going to predict that they will blow-up, likely soon. They have been asked to support Lady Gaga in early 2010, and my guess is that will give them a huge boost in exposure and credibility here in the states. Which is lame, because these guys shouldn’t need the biggest pop star of the moment to give them any kind of boost in cred, in my opinion they’re the ones giving HER a shred of credibility, and they are the real stars of that show, hands-down.
