The debut album by French psych outfit is a curious little beast. Entitled Getting Up, Going Down and released on cassette back in 2011 it showcases a band with a fleet-footed approach to positioning themselves within the genre (don’t worry, you don’t need to find a cassette player as the album is now available on Bandcamp).
In general if pushed I would maybe describe them as The Velvet Underground drone chic mixed with the Happy Monday late night ramshackle chaos. But things aren’t even that simple…
The album starts with ‘Supernova’, a sensational opener that manages to be a rare psych – dance mash-up, sounding like if The Brian Jonestown Massacre came from Madchester. Now that’s a though…
Side A continues with ‘Free And Easy’, all Kinks chirpiness. ‘I’ll Be There’ sounds like shoegaze gone Simon & Garfunkel with a long, trippy fade out. ‘Two’ is another dance floor filler that leaves you wanting more for its sub two-minute length. Things get slower and dronier (?) with ‘Song For Laika’ that has a certain Roxy Music languor.
Side B features ‘Goodbye’, a slice of jangly DandyWarhols-ish pop. ‘Deeds Beyond The Hints’ is the slowly percolating slice of dreamy psych that most bands use as the last track. ‘Chilling Out At Set Time’ sounds like The Beatles dancing around a maypole with flagons of warm real ale. ‘I’m Not Among Believers’ ends with an exploration of hypnosis style repetition of bright, chiming guitars.
The Sudden Death Of Stars have a knack for delicious tunes, in both trippy shoegaze and danceable garage rock styles. They dip their toes into both styles, and more, and emerge with a fun, whimsical album that is worth checking out.
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