We Are The People: They Are The Band!

Oh peeps! Having listened to the Empire of the Sun album repeatedly over the last, oh, four or so months, it has become apparent that their latest single "We Are The People" is officially one of the songs of the decade.

Yeah yeah, I know you're sitting there thinking that there are billions of better songs but hey, this is my humble opinion - at first you sit there and its simple guitar riff and psychedelic singing wash over you in an amiable way and then after ten or so plays you start smiling. And the smile is more of a beam that you can't contain but have to in case people start staring at you more than ever.

It's a summer song: even the video screams warmth and tropical bliss but then I woudn't expect anything less from a band who like to dress up in wild headdresses and dance around in tribal jewellery while wearing lovely blue chinese suits (who are MGMT kidding? They're nowhere near as far out as these guys!) Ah, if Sleepy Jackson and Pnau are really on hold then it's good news. I want more from Empire of the Sun. I want it now and I want them to tour next week!!

Ahem this video takes a while to get going: it's like a weird narrative but my Spanish has deteriorated badly so please: someone tell me what they're saying!!

For The Love Of Benji!

Okay here's two things that are annoying me about Empire of the Sun that has absolutely nothing to do with them (they're great and I'm listening to the album on MySpace now and it's bliss - I beg you a second time to check them out)!

Numero Uno - Has anyone had the same blood curdling feeling when their parents swipe their music and you find that you've been robbed of something that you've discovered yourself? Mom's excuse - "Well I was into the Sleepy Jackson before you!" Aha, yeah, fine. They're two different bands! Just because Luke Steele happens to be in Empire of the Sun doesn't mean you have to steal them away from under my nose!

Numero Due - Oh why, oh why, oh why have I found that the album is third in the bestsellers list on iTunes? This peed me off terribly. Regular readers will probably know by now that if there's one thing I hate it's a good little band suddenly going big overnight. I bet it's great for them but at the same time I don't want loads of chavs and indie wannabes clawing at them!

(Sigh) What's a girl to do?

Introducing: Empire of the Sun

Today is the day that I do my first "introducing" segement of the year! Woo! Now, this is a band that I've been hearing a lot about but never really had the opporutnity to check out until now. Basically, Empire of the Sun, named after the JG Ballard novel of the same name, are Australia's answer to MGMT, producing blissed-out, chilled dance music with a semi-acoustic feel. But I mean look at these guys - instead of placing themselves in fields and wearing headbands like their American counterparts, they're dressed up like something out of a fantasy movie and are living in a futuristic city!

The first track I heard was "Walking On A Dream", which is also the title of their debut album. It is easy to say that the vocals are distinctly like those of Andy VanWyngarden, but the other elements borrow more from the likes of Air and Royksopp - in your head you know that the melody is danceable but there's this niggling feeling that maybe, just maybe, this is music to relax to rather than to move to. I know that the more I listen to them, the more I feel like I need to lie down and go into dream world instead of embracing reality.

Hmm.... there's quite a bit of good stuff coming out of Australia right now isn't there? And doesn't that guy with the bushy hair look like that guy who used to be in Wolfmother (sorry about the vagueness!)? Anyway, here's the video for "Walking On A Dream":