#23: Late Of The Pier - Fantasy Black Channel (2008)

1. Hot Tent Blues
2. Broken
3. Space And The Woods
4. The Bears Are Coming
5. Random Firl
6. Heartbeat
7. Whitesnake
8. VW
9. Focker
10. The Enemy Are The Future
11. Mad Dogs And Englishmen
12. Bathroom Gurgle

It's back! But for how long? Nobody knows...

Anyway, here's another potential 'Album Of The Year' nominee. Relax, JoFo and Los Camp haters, it's not another high-energy shouty band - it's Castle Donington electro scamps Late Of The Pier. Ok, so I lied about the high-energy bit. The Enemy aren't the future: These guys are.

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Journalists and music fans alike place bands into pigeonholes, and some were quick to dismiss Late Of The Pier as being a little bit late to jump on the Klaxons bandwagon. They should think again, however as this is not a 'nu-rave' album - that should become abundantly clear within about two seconds of opening track 'Hot Tent Blues'. The opening fanfare of bombastic guitars quickly cedes to 'Broken's bewildering mix of crisscrossing synths and guitars. Mix these with bleary-eyed lyrics about insomnia and a deliberately over-dramatic chorus delivery, and you're somewhere close to an indication of the world Late Of The Pier inhabit. Fasten your seatbelts, we're in for a chaotic ride.

'Space And The Woods' sees the band tipping their caps to Gary Numan as they create a jerky, confident dancefloor stomper: "I'm shit hot, so say what you think about me!" challenges frontman Sam Eastgate, but with tunes like this you daren't say a word. The band then tumble headlong further into insanity, with 'The Bears Are Coming' being a quirky, infectious oddity that combines fenceposts and teacups being used as percussion with burping synths and the soundtrack to Mario Bros. The next two tracks only serve to continue the madness. 'Random Firl' has the band gazing off into space, with twinkly keyboards and a dreamy, starry-eyed coda of "Behind the clouds, it's lovely," while 'Heartbeat' sees them go stratospheric with some very space-age synths and the soaring guitar line of the chorus. And to think that 'Random Firl' was in danger of being removed from the album for being "too normal"...    

One of the best things about Late Of The Pier is whenever you think the band might be getting too serious, there's an injection of humour to counteract it. The pompous, almost metal-esque guitar soloing of 'VW' is quickly defused by a shout of "CABBAGE!", while the vocal histronics and ear-bleeding synths of 'Focker' give way to a guitar solo that's played on a sampler of all things. But the band's oddest moment by far is 'The Enemy Are The Future', a six-minute epic that starts as what appears to be a comical piss-take of the titular band (the title apparently came from one of The Enemy's flyers), before seamlessly morphing into a slick floor-filling funk that even throws Crystal Castles bleepy noises and a bongo solo into the mix. Utter madness, but it's indicative of the sheer creativity on display here.   

By comparison 'Mad Dogs And Englishmen' might seem a little bit ordinary, but in reality it's still an intense and infectious three minutes that provides a brilliant setup for the jewel in Late Of The Pier's crown. I'm talking, of course, about 'Bathroom Gurgle', a song that is simply sublime. From the squelchy bass riff to the infectious vocal hooks, from the eerie synths to the perfectly placed tempo changes, it's one of the best songs that you'll hear on any album released this year, and rounds off what has been a fantastic journey through the minds of one of the most creative bands out there right now.   

In terms of pushing the envelope and creating interesting music, Late Of The Pier stand out as being way ahead of the pack. From the sublime to the ridiculous and then back again, Fantasy Black Channel is a masterful thrill ride that leaves you wanting more. Whatever these guys come up with next, you can be sure that it'll be something that's as far from mundane as is humanly possible.