Their debut was a thing of crystal-clean beauty, a gentle embryonic exploration of sound and its seemingly organic evolution, entwined with man made materials. Folktronica leaving the garden like a breakaway vine. It was almost onomatopoeic too, with regards to its existence; they were dismembered, split between Texas and Manchester, UK. They sounded just like you’d imagine the long-distance exchange of idea strands could sound like – a high-altitude, weightless meeting of minds somewhere over the Atlantic. Which was fine to begin with, but their gathering infamy, driven forward by an unpartisan party ideal and held firm by wide agreeing smiles, brought them together too much to ever enable a return to that original state of dismemberment.
The anchor’s definitely down this time. While stylistically recognisable, this feels like one band in one room at one time. And while we don’t want to say we sense the hint of a malicious glint in their collective eye, for negative emotion is surely an incompatible notion with them, but really, we do! There is definitely something disorientating/tripped-switch/hall of mirrors about the archaic fairground pace of ‘Burn The Liars’ and the appropriately titled ‘Bad Is As Bad Does’, an intoxicatingly sinister, wailing, kaleidoscopic Death In Vegas style paranoia epic, brought to a nauseating zenith later on ‘Breaking Point’. Even the word “enemy” in the title is a bit of a misnomer for The Earlies’ we used to know.
The Earlies’ palate has certainly broadened. The innocence is gone, to a point. But that doesn’t mean that beauty can’t flourish. ‘No Love In Your Heart’ might have a motor running beneath it but it evolves naturally, spectacularly, collecting gold stars as it goes, equal parts Beta Band (a gathering influence) and Lemon Jelly. ‘Gone For The Most Part’ is accumulative, atmospheric Spiritualized-esque slow-jazz built around a mournful piano line, ‘When The Wind Blows’ is the kind of thing John Lennon might have written after losing his Bestival virginity and ‘Broken Chain’ is the blissed-out harmonic folktronica they built their name (not notoriety… that’s their new obsession) on in the first place. And it’s ok anyway, as you may have expected hope wins through in the end. A sterling sophomore.