Album of the year?
You flick through your stack of CDs, that mountainous pile by the side of your stereo system. All have their pros, all decent enough albums; but none particularly warrant your immediate attention. And then, you glimpse that little black disk bearing the name ‘The Koreans’.
And you can’t resist.
The Koreans’ self-titled major-label debut is simply brilliant. That’s the review in a nutshell. Every single track is head-noddingly, foot-tappingly satisfying, from the electronic opening of Keep Me In Your Mind to the mellow ending of It Keeps Coming. The bass, soulful and groovy in equal measures, thuds through; the dynamic vocals, full of harmonies and inspired melodies, drive each and every song; the constantly distinctive synth effects help establish a definite sound. Everything is refined.
Throughout the album, the listener is treated to a range of track styles, but each one remaining under the distinctive Koreans umbrella. The band’s sound ranges from the disco-rock tinted Land of the Free - more than a little reminiscent of Hot Hot Heat – to the laid-back electronic ambience of Talking to Myself, a vibe somewhere in between The Flaming Lips and Athlete. Yes, it’s an album of obvious influences, but the way The Koreans blend them together and add their own special formula makes it impossible not to forgive them for it.
The best tracks on the album are early singles Machine Code and How Does It Feel, both released on indie label DrownedInSound last year. Both are upbeat, electronic pop-rock songs, and both capture the absolute essence of The Koreans: driving rhythms, bleepy synthesisers, and fantastically harmonised choruses. Try not to nod your head to either of them. Fail.
So: there’s a very real chance that The Koreans could be the finest album of this year. Just last week Room Thirteen uttered similar words about the latest Green Day album – proof if needed that 2004 has been, and continues to be, a really successful year for alternative music. Here’s to The Koreans for heavily contributing to this success.