Strap on your headphones, we're going stereo – Drug Store Romeos' superb debut album deserves the over-ear treatment to make the most of its richly orchestrated synth-led dream pop.
The World Within Our Bedrooms literally swirls around your head, everything taking its turn at centre stage before drifting off again as drums move back to front and left to right, synths lap like waves and ebb away, the bass carries the melody then melts back into the mix… from start to finish, it's intoxicating stuff.
Latest single 'Secret Plan' woozily slips from upbeat to down and throws in a triplet section for good measure – this is music so stoned it can't remember where it left its backbeat. 'What's On Your Mind' has similar issues, gradually pickingup momentum as the good stuff kicks in and eventually getting carried away with itself as it tries to articulate exactly what IS on the band's mind.
There's so much to get across and so little time to do it, and this breathless exuberance keeps things endearingly weird throughout, with 'Elevator' sounding like Lorde on acid, and
'Walking Talking Marathon' turning frontwoman Sarah Downie's vocals into a jumping record. More straight-ahead, 'Frame of Reference' is all analogue warmth with hints of New Order, and 'Vibrate' trips over its feet on an irregular bassline reminiscent of the Pixies.
Incredibly the Hampshire trio (now based in London) are all still in their teens so it is hard not to see some irony in the gentle yet grandiose closing track's title – 'Adult Glamour' is something they are yet to fully taste, if it even exists at all. But with their wide-eyed approach to both music and the world around them it is truly theirs to define, and we wait with bated breath to see what they make of it.
Words - Joe Ponting
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