The Word Is On Your Lips
Something’s sunny in the state of Denmark: Cophenhagen six-tet Alphabeat!
Unlike most “proper,” instrument-playing bands who sound pop because they’re trying on irony or throwing a bone to folks not wanting a tuneless dirge about their own self-misery, Alphabeat are pop on purpose.
Their UK debut single “Fascination” is a glossy Polaroid of their LiteBrite, perpetual pep rally aesthetic. Bouncy, jangly guitars, peppy keyboards, and a driving beat cheer on flawless girl/boy harmonies that are essentially about nothing in particular and everything about being young, happy and alive.
Perhaps there’s something besides Fluoride in Danish water. Or maybe something is lost or rather found in the cultural translation, because Alphabeat sound as if they’ve were fed a diet of PopRocks and Archies records. The clip for “Fascination” bears ample witness:
In truth, for 11 full tracks on the group’s self-titled debut LP, their energy, much like cardio or small children, can be repetitive and exhausting. But in short bursts, it’s a wink-free, no guiles sugar rush–the kind of which rarely gets a hearing these days.
And you kind of have to love a band that turned down the opportunity to open for the Spice Girls on their recent armed robbery, masked as nostalgia, world tour–because the Danes felt the Hag Fives were “tired and not energetic enough.”
“Fascination” is out now in the UK. Alphabeat, briefly available on US iTunes last year, is being retooled and is scheduled for release later this year.
Agitpop 