I’m not a fan of Coldplay, and nor am I particularly enamoured of Snow Patrol or the Engineers.
I put them in that same sort of soft corporate rock pigenohole, only to be taken out if I ever make a romantic comedy film or if I ever invite an insurance consultant to dinner.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t like that whole territory of music. There are some great examples of pop-friendly and introspective rock music. Naturally, nobody’s ever heard of the really good stuff.
I’m a huge fan of 2003’s ‘The Resurrection Show’ by Electric Music AKA, which — if you find it — will be languishing in a bargain bin. What saves Electric Music AKA is the extent to which it pays attention to the real zeitgeist (four years ago, remember), and takes a leaf out of the Beta Band (who I love) and Air (who I don’t).
There’s an electronic collage feel to what they do, while still sharing far more stylistically with the aforementioned soft-rockers. Techno-humanism: it’s cool and detatched, while remaining warm and organic.
Comparisons are tricky beasts, so best you just listen. The whole album’s terrific, so I’ll just give you the title track to get you on your way with them.
Incidentally, the AKA is just there to avoid a lawsuit. Kraftwerk’s Karl Bartos released under the name Elektric Music before hanging out with Johnny Marr and Bernard Sumner in Electronic.
