One of my favourite things about listening to music is that moment when you hit the play button on a band that you know hardly anything about. That moment when this band could be the next biggest thing in your life, the one that quickly takes the number one spot on your Last.FM playlist or when you discover that the band sucks so much you can’t even make it to the end of the track. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve trembled as I’ve hit that button hoping this band is going to be the first kind.
So here I was with another band I knew little about, When Saints Go Machine. I lined up their track “Kelly” and hit play ready to find out whether they were going to delight or disappoint me. In true game show style I’ll now keep you in suspense for the answer whilst I tell you a little about the band…
Firstly they’re a four piece from Denmark and are Nikolaj Manuel Vonsild (vocals), Jonas Kenton (keyboards), Simon Muschinsky (keyboards) and Silas Moldenhawer (drums). Formed in 2007, they have a fantastic mix of influences ranging from dance music, experimental electronica (think Aphex Twin, someone I love!), post punk and pop. Put all that together and you end up with something that sounds very different, which means they are hard to classify. Having spent two years on its preparation their debut album, “Konkylie” is out soon.
OK then, back to “Kelly”. I’m going to guess by now that you’ve probably realised that this isn’t going to be a negative review! From those opening beats to Nikolaj’s falsetto vocals this is a gorgeous mix of pop and clubland beats that sounds like the funkier love child of Prince and Hot Chip. I’ve checked out some of their other tracks on their soundcloud page and it’s just one sound they’re capable of which means I just can’t wait for their album because it’s going to be interesting!
I can see them heading up my playlist pretty soon (oh, and if you want more you can also check out their video for “Church And Law” here).
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