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Jun 29, 2015 Issue #53 - April/May 2015 - Tame Impala By Scott Dransfield

Everything Everything is a U.K. band that makes the kind of music now championed by slightly younger groups like alt-J and Adult Jazz. Their first two albums, 2010’s Man Alive and 2013’s Arc, were experimentally-minded approaches to pop that took pure melody and shoved it through a digital filter of off-kilter chord progressions and unusual, reverb-less falsetto vocals courtesy of frontman Jonathan Higgs. The band’s peak came with Arc‘s single “Kemosabe,” a catchy-as-hell blast of jagged, art-damaged pop with a euphoric chorus. On the new album Get to Heaven, Everything Everything have taken the enjoyable elements of that song and expanded them to make a pleasant, sugary album with fewer experimental excursions and mostly similar rewards.

Get to Heaven also has a killer single in “Distant Past.” It’s a perfect showcase for Higgs’ strange, bold vocals and it shows off a dancier side to Everything Everything than previously explored. The lyrics are tightly focused and refreshingly unique; the same goes for the majority of the album’s running time. Humanity’s primitive roots, manipulative religious leaders, even capitalistic enterprises—none are safe from Higgs’ onslaught of direct, passionate delivery.

Some of the tracks in the first half of Get to Heaven play it safe. “Spring/Sun/Winter/Dread” has a pretty basic hook and unambitious instrumentation. Everything Everything’s best songs hit like immaculately constructed episodes, each full of surprises. Fortunately, the back half of this album is full of them. Most flawless is “Blast Doors,” a punchy tune with a forceful, half-rap delivery by Higgs and a wonderful rhythmic interplay. It’s an example of what Everything Everything does best, and proof that Get to Heaven is another big step toward the leading spotlight the burgeoning art-pop genre needs. (www.everything-everything.co.uk)

Author rating: 8/10