Official Secrets Act - Understanding Electricity

by Dixie Ernill

published: 30 / 3 / 2009

Official Secrets Act - Understanding Electricity

Label: One Little Indian
Format: CD

intro

Exceptional debut album from much hyped London-based pop band Official Secrets Act, who prove with it to be far more than a great singles band

Most bands would be content wrapping up a few killer tunes with a bit of padding and calling it an album, but despite 'Understanding Electricity' coming in the wake of a clutch of great singles, Official Secrets Act don’t rest on their laurels and ensure that there is no let up in standard. Indeed, such is the quality of their album that they can afford to discard their excellent debut single, ‘Snakes And Ladders’, from the final cut altogether. Musically, the band is a modern take on a cocktail of OMD, They Might Be Giants and the Divine Comedy and probably has the likes of Cajun Dance Party, Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong and the Answering Machine as contemporaries. ‘Mainstream’ is a fine opening track, easily the equal of recent singles, ‘So Tomorrow’ and ‘The Girl From The BBC’ (with it’s infectious “And when Summer comes we’ll go to Paris or Rome”) that immediately follow it. Elsewhere, ‘Momentary Sanctuary’ and ‘Bloodsport’ swirl with a pair of beady eyes firmly on the dancefloor, while ‘Hold The Line’ is a anthem for the modern indie kid. Another single, ‘Victoria’, is tucked away towards the end of the CD, but despite being pretty damn good it doesn’t stand out particularly above the tracks around it. 2009 is barely at Easter and already I think we have a genuine contender for album of the year and I haven’t even mentioned ‘Little Birds’….. Go buy this record.

Track Listing:-

1 Mainstream
2 So Tomorrow
3 The Girl From The BBC
4 A Head For Herod
5 Momentary Sanctuary
6 Bloodsport
7 Victoria
8 December
9 Under The Flightpath
10 Little Birds
11 Hold The Line

Label Links:-

http://www.indian.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/olirecords
https://twitter.com/olirecords
http://www.songkick.com/users/onelittleindian
https://www.youtube.com/user/onelittleindian
https://plus.google.com/+OneLittleIndianRecords

interviews

Interview (2009)

Lawrence Diamond from rising pop/rock band Official Secrets Act speaks to Dixie Ernill about his band and their recently released debut album, 'Understanding Electricity'

live reviews

Roadhouse, Manchester, 26/3/2009

Out on the road to promote their debut album 'Understanding Electricity', Dixie Ernill watches excitable band-on-the-rise Official Secrets Act play a stunning set of indie pop at the Manchester Roadhouse