Despite the trappings of being an all girl group, Brighton’s Electrelane rise to the challenge indie rock issues from time to time to a chosen few — that of being pure and staying that way. Androgyny is one of the pillars upholding this aesthetic, and the girls seem willing to lend their support — they dress up in Joan of Arc costumes, sing like choirboys, and make their guitars snarl, outdoing the angriest of young men.
Ultimately though, the various elements on No Shouts No Calls (2007) — twee vocals, Farfisa organs, and revving guitars — are combined in a way that is genteel rather than aggressive. The skillful manner in which these elements are layered recalls the deft hand of the pastry chef rather than the chubby paw which No Shouts No Calls’ occasional mud-pie-sculpting simplicity suggest was the shaping force behind the album.
“Cut and Run,” for instance, is a track that seems designed to stoke the wan flames of journalistic cliché. Viewed purely as an accomplishment, it’s your typical ‘refreshing slice of summery indie pop,’ but what is much more important for the endeavor/quest being undertaken on the album is that its heart is open and in the right place.
The girls are at their most girly on “In Berlin,” which opens with the melancholic diary entry lyric “there is thunder in Berlin” and a sad little rocking horse melody picked out on the upper reaches of an electronic organ. “Between the Wolf and the Dog,” by contrast, is an electric guitar snarlfest which allows the band to enjoy a mosh, shaking their mid-length pageboy haircuts for all they’re worth.
“No Shouts No Calls” was recorded at least partly in Berlin, and one of the things that makes the album not just smart but sophisticated is the way its urban backdrop meets and interacts with its indie rock ambitions: the result is a hopeful vision of the city (which in the last couple of years has been enjoying a ‘moment’ among young hipster expats) that is more primary colored than gritty. Thrifty, plucky East Berlin plays the role of new band member on songs like “Tram 21,” which begins with the clanging approach of a tram and morphs into a lazy reverie that unfolds in the capable hands of the reliable Euro public transport system. “Tram 21” manages to be modern in the spruce manner of a Swedish kitchen and in doing so it recalls one of Electrelane’s major influences, the sometimes blandly European electro-pop band Stereolab.
“No Shouts No Calls,” however, manages to mostly avoid the Euro influences of Stereolab, Neu, and the English whimsy that leaps out from the nautically themed album cover. So Electrelane stay clean not only through a good work ethic and curtailing their prog-out inclinations, but by avoiding overly hygienic electro-pop on the other end of the spectrum. Their 2004 album Power Out was released on “Too Pure,” but though Electrelane manage to elevate themselves to the state of grace Lou Barlow of Sebadoh sings about (in his case an ideal reached through chemicals), they thankfully avoid becoming holier than thou along the way.
