Neon Satori - Bells Of Esmeralda

Single review by andy@thesoundofconfusion.com

Back when I was knee-high to a grasshopper - all be it essentially a freakishly large grasshopper that would scare the living daylights out of anyone passing through its field - I made something amazing for my nursery school project. It was a SPACE ROCKET *makes take off blast noise* and let me tell you readers it was mega!! In many ways this was the zenith of my creative achievements, because, on reaching the ripe old age of four and two thirds, graduation to primary school saw my artistic intent stifled by the dual barriers of a) a lack of left-handed scissors and b) my inability to differentiate between the black and purple crayons (much to my teacher's not at all concealed frustration!). Let's not dwell on that negative though, because the point is my rocket was brilliant, got that BRILL-I-ANT!

Alright, so with the benefit of hindsight and adult eyes it probably wasn't quite as fantabulous as I've made it out to be, nonetheless I was proud of it, and with a different roll of fortune's dice (i.e. useful scissors!) it could have been a starting point for something great. Now, for me and my rocket, substitute Neon Satori and their first crack at a single, 'Bells Of Esmeralda'; for while it was milk cartons, washing-up bottles, toilet rolls and tissue boxes that were stealthily redistributed in the name of space exploration, for this trio from Santa Cruz it's musical tidbits that have caught their magpie eyes.

By that we mean this is a track that appears happy to sport some of its influences not only on its sleeve, but also its chest, shorts, cap and presumably underwear too. A vocal melody loaned from Depeche Mode's 'Strangelove', an ascending mid-section that merges the methodology of Foals with elements of a lesser known B-side by The Music; an overall similarity in song structure with that adopted by Zulu Winter - there are definitely a lot of comparisons to be made here. The thing is though, all of the above great bands, so rather than questioning Neon Satori's originality of thought, we can only praise them for having the good sense and taste to follow the path of people who have previously bought so much pleasure to so many. As first efforts go 'Bells Of Esmeralda' is promising for sure, and with some extra bite added into proceedings (especially at the back end of that mid-section, which a touch disappointingly took the subdued route when it had threatened to be building to the type of explosive finale the aforementioned Foals specialise in) it could have been even more mouth-watering.  Not quite yet neon levels, but bright none the less, and they should only just be warming up.

Neon Satori's website





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