The Early Years: The Early Years

Label: Beggars Banquet

Shoegaze. Space rock. Trance rock. Dream pop. They’re back (see also: Asobi Seksu, Film School), and the trend continues with the Early Years, a London trio that adds Krautrock (specifically the “motorik” beat of Neu) to the mix on some tracks. There are the usual ethereal tracks on which sheets of guitar-buzz-n-hum billow around melancholy melodies as rhythms gently undulate, sometimes crescendoing to more intense moments of pounding ecstasy, and they’re great. But it’s those steadily percolating uptempo changes of pace that set this band apart from the crowd – expect to see autobahns in England soon just to provide the perfect listening context for tracks such as “All Ones and Zeros” and “Musikderfrühenjahre.” This expanded U.S. edition of The Early Years adds a bonus EP with four previously unreleased tracks and two videos. (Steve)