This Is The Last…

Although I respect and really do like the Arcade Fire I don’t get that messiah tingle up everyone’s spine. Maybe it’s just the vocals that rub me the wrong way or the fact that I find the phrase Canadian rock band perplexing. It could even be watching my skin curl off the bones every time I hear a pseudo hipster drop the name like security clearance.

Whatever the reason I feel as though they’re coming up my blind spot and for second I thought maybe my negativity was blinding me. Enter deep thought: Have I truly become so jaded that I can’t even enjoy what “appears” to be an amazing band? Have I actually let the bitter kill my love for music?

Thankfully by what seems to be divine intervention the answer was sent via email newsletter. A way to focus only on the good the Arcade Fire has to offer without having to deal with all the irritating muck (that voice!). They’re called My Latest Novel: a five piece Scottish band who just released their debut LP on the ever amazing Bella Union. I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT! IN YOUR FACE!

Listening to MLN’s Wolves Out is staring into a child’s eyes so wide you fall in…the wunderkind love child of Belle & Sebastian and the Arcade Fire to be precise. Although the over-used comparisons to both have some merit they’re also short sighted.

MLN craft shimmering builds in the same manner as the Arcade Fire but temper the explosions with a sense of melody foreign to the latter. They weave pop and folk as effortlessly and beautifully as Belle & Sebastian but are far more adventurous.

My Latest Novel builds the married sound of noise and pop brick by brick where most bands pile. Chanting boy-girl melodies enhanced with violins, xylophone, guitars and an ability to write victory aubades that rival that of birds. It’s an adult fairytale, magic plain and simple.