JAVELIN

HI BEAMS (Luaka Bop)

9/20

Oh, electronic indie pop, will you ever hold a place in our hearts? There are so many bands that sound like Javelin already populating the charts and – we can only imagine – countless seedy New York dive bars, and if it weren’t for their sound being at least five years out of date they might actually be the best band in Brooklyn. The fact remains: it is and they’re not. Brooklyn counterparts French Horn Rebellion sound virtually the same as Javelin, albeit slightly less swirly, and Glassjaw’s Daryl Palumbo pulled out a surprisingly wonderful disco sleaze record (and a shitty, generally ignored college rock effort) with his band Head Automatica many, many moons ago. So, why this? Why now? Certain points of the album, notably Friending Revised, are catchy and fun, and these guys obviously know how to put a great tune together, but what can you really say about a band like Javelin in 2013? Ultimately, they’re just not that exciting. Hi Beams essentially feels like a bit of a waste of musicianship, to be placed firmly in your “will not remember in five years,” pile.

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Words: Billy Black