Astralwerks

The youthful vigor of Late Of The Pier bursts from the British quartet’s debut full-length, Fantasy Black Channel. This is witnessed in the amalgamation of high-energy styles topped with ska bounces and punk sneers. Mainly, however, it’s their electro-rock/synth-pop sensibility fused with inventive and contagious dance hooks that makes Channel effective. The carousel swing of “Random Firl” is balanced by the rapid rolls of “Heartbeat”, while the bleeps of “The Enemy are the Future” temper the grinding crunch of “Whitesnake”. There isn’t a genre Pier hasn’t plundered, but with their unfailing exuberance, it all works.