UK buzz band makes good on their EP’s promise with this full-length debut.
Starting off with fuzzy, electro-surf guitars, gamer-inspired synth and drum fills that hit with the surprisingly controlled chaos of what is “Hot Tent Blues,” Late of the Pier’s Fantasy Black Channel kicks off with just a hint of the glam rock that is splattered throughout the rest of their first album. Samuel Dust’s masculine digi-pop voice spouts in a way that resembles Flight of the Conchords’ Jemaine Clement and The Rakes’ Alan Donohoe. Dust’s eclectic inflections somehow mesh impeccably with the numb, murmured buzz of a post-uppers comedown that you can’t seem to shake. The band was able to make me feel like I was riding the Haunted Mansion while having a wonderfully terrifying mushroom trip. But it’s not all so dizzying; the occasional sweet lullaby tones and playful bleeps lets you know that this too will pass.
Jennifer Caddick
File under: Klaxons, Friendly Fires, Bolt Action Five