March 12th, 2008 11:00am
The Word Is On Your Lips…Say The Word!
Alphabeat “Fascination” - Alphabeat’s music has got very little to do with the real world. They are fantasists, and on their album, they’ve built a familiar and incredibly inviting alternate universe built from the scraps of teen movies, young adult novels, WB/CW tv shows, and several generations of pop hits. They’re the Josh Schwartzs of Euro pop; the creators of fully aware, exquisitely crafted escapist fluff that gains its power from its sincere appreciation of the idealized artifice and simplified narratives of pop storytelling. Alphabeat pretty much spell it out for you in the lyrics of “Fascination”: “Passion is our passion,” “We love this exaltation,” “We live on fascination.” In other words, they believe in magic, and they’re going to do everything they can to nudge their fantasies into reality. At the very least, they’ve made a nearly perfect album of songs that sound like a bright, colorful world of humor, beauty, extreme joy and drama, and the sort of sadness that can be reversed in the span of a single montage sequence. (Click here to buy it via Alphabeat.)
3/12/08 5:47 pm
Finally you catch on! They are the epitomy of a high school music class band. Incredibly naive sounding, but with an enthusiasm that can’t be bought.
3/12/08 5:47 pm
Finally you catch on! They are the epitomy of a high school music class band. Incredibly naive sounding, but with an enthusiasm that can’t be bought.
3/12/08 7:29 pm
Well, keep in mind that I don’t actually live in Europe, and I don’t read many other music blogs on a regular basis. I’ve been aware of this song and the band for a while now, but it took a while to actually acquire the full album.
3/12/08 7:29 pm
Well, keep in mind that I don’t actually live in Europe, and I don’t read many other music blogs on a regular basis. I’ve been aware of this song and the band for a while now, but it took a while to actually acquire the full album.
3/13/08 8:51 pm
Sorry, no offence meant Matthew, I was just sure this was going to be your thing and was kind of expecting it to be on your blog sooner. Your write up is spot on by the way!
3/13/08 8:51 pm
Sorry, no offence meant Matthew, I was just sure this was going to be your thing and was kind of expecting it to be on your blog sooner. Your write up is spot on by the way!
12/24/08 1:09 pm
[...] Fascination / Alphabeat [...]
12/1/09 10:46 pm
[...] the power of songs that present a glamorous fantasy version of ordinary life. As they made clear on “Fascination,” their debut single that now more than ever reads like the Alphabeat manifesto, they care deeply [...]