BACK TO BASICS: Metronomy's debut, "Pip Paine (Pay The £5,000 You Owe)", one of the most overlooked debut albums?...

This is a rather peculiar one, the first release of the electronic outfit Metronomy. Peculiar in the sense that much like their most recent release "Summer '08", the sole member on either is frontman Joseph Mount. The man himself describes this first project as "the sound of someone living in a musically redundant place trying to make exciting music." Vastly different from anything to come after it, the Metronomy name purely used as a moniker, this may stand as one of the best, if not the best album to date from said moniker.

To many a Metronomy fan, they'll be sure to disagree and that is perfectly understandable. I've enjoyed all of what they've had to offer past this, including the return back to solitude in "Summer '08". But what is so striking about "Pip Paine" in particular is that its influences shine through greatly, all of the tracks purely instrumental and experimental in nature, hitting many of the same notes as Aphex Twin or Kraftwerk.

It's chock full of wonderful tracks with introspective and catchy beats such as the self-assured "This Could Be Beautiful (It Is)", featuring a robotic tune that you can't help but bob your head to. It's peaceful in its own unique way, clearing your head of thoughts as you let it sweep you away. Tracks of this calibre are aplenty here, sure-fire given the place that Mount found himself over the spare years he put this together. Getting an old computer and experimenting with your own projects, taking what you've loved and listened to countless times and paying homage.

It works on multiple levels, either listening to it intently for the first time or as a background supplement whilst being productive (or trying to be). With it being given a few listens now, I can easily start this going in comfort and still find new and interesting aspects to each track that I never noticed prior. What Mount must consider is him just messing around on his dad's old hardware speaks high volumes, creating a set of often overlooked and wonderful electronic tracks that never fail to catch my ear.

There are some songs that stand out more than others such as the aforementioned "Beautiful" or the powerful riff-track "You Could Easily Have Me", but as a whole, it's an experience that's akin to that of an upbeat Boards of Canada. There's not much that can be said other than that this is criminally underrated, even amongst Metronomy fans. Now that Mr. Mount is all alone again on his most recent continuation of his musical baby, it's time to look back and see how it all started. Pay the respects you owe to one of the best debuts out there.

SEASON AFTER SEASON: Everything Everything's "Get To Heaven", bold, determined art rock at its finest...

"Get To Heaven" is a pretty radical statement in comparison to their previous albums which featured more sombre tones and sensitive lyrics. This is quite the opposite, firing on all cylinders, aggressive in every definition of the word. It's this buzz which gives "Get To Heaven" its edge, with banger after banger coming on out to pull your attention with its unique approach to pop music, whilst still maintaining its accessibility throughout.

"To the Blade", the opening track, is to the point, addressing you directly as the listener with its first line: "So you think there's no meaning in anything that we do?" It's sense of urgency is immediate and there is no second guessing as to what it is trying to achieve. The song is an open letter to a person of a questionable nature, proven by that very line, possibly relating to terrorism. A heavy message for any song, but this just goes head first into it, a radical action attacked head-on by a radical opener. The elephant in the room. The track bursts into life mid-verse, surprising further. This burst alone showcases Jonathan Higgs' vocal talent with his ability to snap between differing vocal styles and pitches at an instant. As an opener, it serves as a perfect introduction to the album, the aggressive and somewhat overbearing nature doesn't slow with later tracks. It keeps going.

So as the story goes with "Distant Past", continuing the thumping beats started in the previous tracks. It relates back also in terms of its theme, in that history repeats itself, with the distant past serving as a simpler time. As we "cross the Rubicon" or our evolutionary point of no return, the distant past is our ticket to change what is set in the present. Their unique flavour and approach to pop continues with this, an electronic presence is greatly felt in the chorus in particular with the synth strings which is not too dissimilar to house music. It's a blend that needs to be heard more often and experimented with, as the rest of the tracks on this album strive and achieve in doing so.

It keeps on coming with the title track "Get To Heaven", overcoming the horrors of everyday life and understanding them: "We can get to that heaven!" Served alongside this is the falsetto-defying vocals once more and a blissful chorus featuring its own quirky mix of instruments, uncanny in how it fits together. "Regret" contrasts this, opening with a banging percussion beat and the title of the song serving as its hook. A simple statement of wanting to change mistakes for the better, but powerful in its execution and again being direct in nature, asking you directly: "Did you imagine it in a different way?" Thinking about what went wrong and how your own imagination would make up for the scenario and serve as the way it actually happened.

Now, my favourite hook of the album "Spring / Sun / Winter / Dread" opens with Higgs' yelp in danger of time passing by as the clock hand looms heavy before throwing you into its chorus, questioning the inescapable nature of time. Season after season passes and you get older, "[no way!]" Higgs proclaims. It's another simple message in the nature of "Regret" but again it is one that affects us all. The song becomes impossible to resist as it hits its cut-throat bridge and you can just feel your head letting go, banging away with the track, building in intensity and speed until the song finally cuts out. When you can end your song with the bridge, AND make it incredibly satisfying, you've got a winning combo there and then.

It takes a transitional turn with "The Wheel (Is Turning Now)", a darker tone showing their "Kid A" influence rearing its head, still maintaining a beat but one that is more subdued, a stark contrast in comparison to the rest of the album so far. To which is the direction the album goes for the rest of its duration with tracks like "Fortune 500", an account of breaking into Buckingham Palace and murdering the Queen, reemerging with "No Reptiles" which again starts subdued but builds to an almost heavenly climax, dealing with rejection and pleading for a meaning in the world. "Just give me this one night, just one night to feel..."

This album is a bold new direction for Everything Everything and a direction that should be pushed even further with their next album, as while it can be overwhelming at times and for some it may have to be taken in parts, but it is truly enthralling as it never lets go of your attention and is always at the forefront.