The last twelve years or so have brought about an abundance of acts who fuse different cultures into their music, be it the afropop of Vampire Weekend or Fool’s Gold or weirdy folk made by the likes of Bon Iver and Animal Collective, and really the list goes on.
But what about ye olde humble indie rock? You know, bands who take their other cues from bands such as Pavement Pixiesand Sonic Youth. I know this sound has sort of died out, but it would be interesting to see a band carry the torch.
Enter New Zealnd’s Bailterspace. Now to be factual – the band has been around since the late 80′s and have been through a lot, having been on the NZ’s most famous label, Flying Nun, and past members where in famed bands such as The Clean (to name one band). So is my liking (I’m sure you’ve guessed already that I’ve warmed up to Strobosphere pretty quickly) for this comeback album really a desire to visit the sound which dominated my youth???
In one way you can say so, but on the other hand, Strobosphere does pass the criteria that I usual tick off when listening to an album. There are definitely tunes. The album flows well and it could be liked by someone who’s into indie rock. When you have highlights such as opener Things that we found, or Island, there’s no reason why to give this record a miss. It’s good fun all around and can be a good history lesson for a kid discovering the 90′s alt rock scene.
