Average User Rating: 80% (15 Reviews)
5 / 5	Genre defying return of pop or Mika in group form? Thankfully it's the former... A.A.C.M (Essex) - 19 May 2008 Cast your minds back, if you will, to 2005 - more specifically, to the time when indie was becoming genre du jour in the charts again. It seemed very much like an identikit of what happened a decade previously, with the mass commercial rise of Britpop and bands such as Oasis, Blur and Pulp; only this time it was po faced, derisive and very "suburban" indie bands like Kaiser Chiefs and Hard Fi (at least, they seem that way now after dull as dishwater second albums). Now, in 2008, just as the bubble burst on Britpop 10 years ago, so too, it does with our current shifting music scene, worryingly defined by bands like the Wombats and Scouting For Girls, who sound so much like the product of a flip chart board meeting at their respective record companies that you can almost hear the promotion executives saying to one another "Shall we do brunch darling?". However, at the tragic demise of one genre renaissance must come the calvary with another, and here, it's Danish sextet Alphabeat, with a 10 track debut opus that acts as a kind of mission statement to announce the return of proper pop music to the charts. And it's already seeming to serve it's purpose with the opening track, "Fascination". Their first UK single, it's part Franz Ferdinand, part Junior Senior (remember 2003's floorfiller Move Your Feet, anyone?) and part cool 80's kitsch pop and is one of the most delightful tracks on here. It's not hard to see then, why the track is still hovering around the top 10 three months after release with their second single just about to come out; that too is a corker. "10,000 Nights Of Thunder" with it's "Wuthering Heights" and "Safety Dance" referencing lyrics immediately informs the listener that Alphabeat are in fact no ordinary pop band, although it could certainly be percieved that way when you consider that their UK management team are the same lot who were responsible for foisting Mika to the top end of the charts last year. Instead, the band take great pleasure in honing in on their numerous and diverse musical influences, ranging from New Kids On The Block to the B-52's. Indeed, on "Fantastic 6", it's as if the latter's "Love Shack" has been given a 21st century reimagination via S Club 7 at their peak and it works perfectly. Better still, the hits, unlike on most albums by bands of Alphabeat's genre where they're synonymous with the word "filler", just keep on coming, be they rollicking disco pop romps like "Go Go" and "Boyfriend" or more pacific, downtempo numbers like "What Is Happening?" The listener may be left wondering then, exactly what their audience demographic will end up being after this album comes out - if it'll largely be the readers of irreverent music blog Popjustice, who are such big fans of the band they made them headliners on last month's "Wonky Pop" tour, or if it'll be a younger, pre teen fanbase that first discovered music 5 or 6 years ago through artists, who like Alphabeat, wrote and played their own repertoire of perfect pop songs like Busted or Avril Lavigne, and are now flocking back to the genre like BT customers. Either way, there seems to be no doubt that with an album this uniquely crafted that Alphabeat are onto a winner - it's their first greatest hits album, and hopefully one of the first of many.... Read Full Review »
5 / 5	Agree with the other reviews-quirky and brill! Sam "kingathon" (UK) - 6 June 2008 I completely agree with the reviewer who said it is hard to define who Alphabeat will appeal to-could it be the younger market, or people nostalgic for eighties pop, or the "cool" music market. Because Alphabeat have (at least so far) not been tarnished with the same brush as S-Club 7 or even Abba as cheesy pop which can only be enjoyed by children or really sad people...Luckily at the moment Alphabeat are currently widely well regarded by a variety of sources-for example The Guardian gives the album 4stars as does The Sun. 1.Fantastic 6-A fantastic album opener, but it is not the best track on here by quite a long way... 7/10 2.Fascination-Quirky, addictive pop. This song is Alphabeat at their absolute best! 10/10 3.10 000 Nights-Another addictive song and it's really good, but is just slighly cornier than Fascination. 9/10 4.Boyfriend-Probably my favourite track on the album, it is unbelieveably catchy and the vocals are brilliant. 10/10 5.What Is Happening-The first time I heard this one I wasn't too impressed, but its a real grower and it is an excellent song. 9/10 6.Go Go-Again quirky, catchy, pop. 9/10 7.Touch Me Touching You-This track really is reminiscent of a bygone era and for that amongst other reasons, it's super! 9/10 8.Rubberboots-Another of my favourite tracks, the only "ballad" on the album and its not at all typical. 10/10 9.Public Image-This is an interesting cover, but I would have preferred it to be omitted as it is not their strongest. 7/10 10.Nothing But My Baby-A fantastic ending and extremely suitable! 9/10 My one main criticism of the album would be that it's too short, but then again I realise the best albums often are (e.g. Duffy-Rockferry, Amy Winehouse-Back to Black etc.)... Read Full Review »
5 / 5	Fascinated! Mr. Richard D. Hide "Reviewer" - 12 April 2008 I have only so far listened to the singles Fascination from this album, but i highly reccomend it! Definately getting the album. :D
5 / 5	not normally my genre of music D. J. Collins "musicmad" - 31 May 2008 i like rock music , i hate pop music. but i love love love alphabeat. the songs are so catchy. facsination was the first song i heard and i just cant get it out of my head. though fascination was released months ago i only really got into it a few weeks ago. but i am now so hooked.im definatly getting their album. though his sexuality is very debatable. i have a major crush on anders sg i think hes so adorable. ... Read Full Review »
4 / 5	It definately has the beat... Just Joe (Isle of Man) - 6 June 2008 "This is Alphabeat" can only be described as 'a grower'. The two singles "Fascination" and "10,000 Nights" are the most up-beat tracks on the album, making the others seem slightly... less enjoyable. After a few run throughs though, many other songs come into their own (such as "Boyfriend"). Oh, and the cover is nice too! Overall a good buy!