With Bloc Party, The Rakes, Hot Chip and Friendly Fires all having records released by Moshi Moshi over the last few years, it’d be reasonable to assume that a compilation album comprised of their most current would be packed with the crème de la crème of upcoming talent. And after sampling the delights of Moshi Moshi Singles Club Volume II, we’ve been proven to have assumed correctly.
Everyone’s favourite ethereal redhead Florence and the Machine kicks off proceedings with Kiss With A Fist; a track whose punchy drum beats most definitely helps the song live up to its name. James Yuill, a producer from Brighton is up next, with No Pins Allowed; four minutes of unadulterated pop pleasure backed by some ridiculously catchy electro riffs. Norwegian scamps Casiokids certainly make an impression with jumpy piano chords that give Grønt lys I alle ledd a disco vibe and really get you in the mood for the remainder of the album. No, you may not be able to understand a word they’re singing but the tune alone will have you tapping your feet along in no time.
Still Flyin’ are an eight-piece from San Francisco, whose jovial Californian indie pop will have you hooked in no time. You can’t help but smile when you listen and that’s certainly never a negative attribute for a band to possess. Fanfarlo present the listener with a beautiful orchestral-indie sound, with vocals resonant to that of Arcade Fire’s frontman, and once they introduce the violins, there’s something almost hypnotic about them. Their upcoming inclusion on the latest Twilight movie soundtrack will deniably earn them significant recognition, but sadly for all the wrong reasons.
With the eighties revival still firmly holding it’s influential grip over the industry, it would almost be wrong for the album not to feature some electro power-pop and this is delivered to us in the form of the exquisite Mirrors with Into the Heart. However, with the good comes the bad and there are a couple of tracks on here which shows them up to pale in comparison to their peers. Bless Beats’ Sex In The City is exactly what the name suggests it to be – a gaudy dance tune with ubiquitous mediocre female vocals and the obligatory RnB vocal sandwiched in the middle.
Somewhat surprisingly, the stand-out tracks on the album don’t come from the currently more well known acts featured such as Florence and The Drums. Still Flyin’ and Mirrors steal the show here, but with the Moshi Moshi name behind them, it won’t be a matter of whether all of the featured musicians make it big, it’s simply waiting to find out when.
This review was originally posted on www.culturedeluxe.com
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