Polytechnic - Down Til Dawn (Shatterproof)
4/5
By: Alex Lee Thomson
For those of you new to Rockfeedback, you should note that - cards on the table - we have a sister label, Transgressive Records, a feature I mention now not only because these guys were once on our humble releasing-machine, but in many ways have numerous musical similarities to others on the labels roster. Firstly, there's the guitars; beautiful and delicately persuasive, not too dramatic but effortlessly captivating and enchantingly equivalent to the jingle-jangle of Mystery Jets. Then there are the other strings, the backdrop of sweeping accompaniment that drizzles down effectively and jumpily in the same vein as Larrikin Love. Put these with a bashing and solemnly captivating vocal circa early-Subways and you've got the rough idea about what this album poses.
There's a sense of mid-90s fun here, but where the individual ingredients capture a lively party vibe, as a whole there's little to sink your teeth into, at least on the surface. All the elements of a great and memorable album seem to be there and at many points work incredibly well together, with depth and sincerity, but at times drag too much - like an Oscar winning film that struggles to get the plot moving as fast as the audience would like. There are tracks here, like 'Man Overboard', that show the kind of maturity not often found on debut releases but in the same breath you have to note that the exciting spark also associated with fresh artists is lost as well. Naïve enthusiasm is bypassed for a constructively well-orchestrated and rounded mirror-shine to the final product.
Not that all that's a bad thing of course, and if this is the standard the band have achieved on a debut, you can only guess as to what they'll be able to produce after a few years of fine tuning what's already an incredibly well made sound. In that respect it's like Guillemots, only more enjoyable to hear, intricate and periodically uplifting, flamboyant and unique but with an awareness that's somehow encouraging.
Don't let the playful nature of the albums vocals take you away from the seriousness of what it's achieved musically, successfully fusing complex riffs with delightfully mischievous chord progressions and sexy drum beats that at parts become a bit monotonous, but maintain the tone of the album, keeping the kids in the crèche as it were. Such is the wonderful character of 'Down Til Dawn', you can hear one track and not be able to associate it too hastily to the rest of the tracks on offer, each song preserving a slightly hidden meaning and using a somewhat altered archetype of songmaking; fascinatingly so.
In places the album is perfect, marrying so many uncontrollables into a harmonious structure that swathes and revolts fantastically but remains on course with a direction which is only visible in the best of history's releases. In other places however it's fussy and demanding, seeking too much attention and losing its purpose which is, or at least should be, to make music people want to hear and will enjoy hearing time and time again. This is a brilliant album, really brilliant in fact, but lacks just a bit of approachability and though so many of the songs are joyous to hear, as an album it's slightly long-winded, taking too much effort to fall into. There's so much magic to absorb here, certainly too much for one listen anyway, and will certainly be one to take home from the record shop with a sense of curiosity, but for all its joys - it's many wrapping and heavenly joys - it's fails just short of being truly engaging, sounding frustratingly like too many of its influences. Still, it is f***ing good. Argh!
Stream four tracks from 'Down Til Dawn' HERE.
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