As we reported back in August, London collective The Little Philistines had been gradually unveiling their new album 'Nuclear Envelope' track-by-track for quite some time, and now, voila! Here it is in all its fully-formed glory, still without any explanation as to what a nuclear envelope actually is. It sounds dangerous though, but the band seem much more friendly and fun and their idiosyncratic form of indiepop is packed with colour, zeal and willful eclecticism. Their riffs are sharp and lively, their lyrics are witty and urgent and their choice of instruments goes beyond your stereotypical bass, drums, guitar set up. In short; they're individual, playful and highly adept.
Compared to many albums, 'Nuclear Envelope' is a fairly immediate hit, especially if, like us, you know many of the songs from their gradual online unveiling, but it's great to have them slotted together into a cohesive whole. Even if you're yet to sample the sound of this or any of their previous recordings, they won't take long to begin embedding themselves in your consciousness. The Little Philistines are a dab hand at coming up with memorable pop hooks. Just look to the bouncy 'Hot Phone' or angular opener 'She's My Food' for examples of addictive indie-type goodness; plus a sprinkling of lyrical witticisms only adds to their cause (sample: "I treated you like a number two when you should be number one").
When it comes to comparisons to other bands we could be here all day, but that's not because they've plundered and pillaged all their tricks from elsewhere, it's more that with such a vast musical landscape there will be inevitable similarities, particularly with an all-embracing style such as this. For a quick starter if we say The Futureheads meets Belle & Sebastian meets Talking Heads they can't have too many complaints. When they drop the kookiness the results are just as good, check out the brass-drenched 'The Lightest Part' and the hectic post-punk of 'Stammer From The Heart'. 'Nuclear Envelope' is a riot of enthusiasm and a bundle of energy, recognisable enough to provide instant gratification yet unique enough to avoid being derivative; it's a little atom bomb of indiepop fun.
The Little Philistines' website
Stream or buy the album
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