Django Django, Django Django (Because) **** (From York Press)

Django Django, Django Django (Because) ****

11:17am Friday 3rd February 2012 in CD reviews By Mark Grewer

ANY group that is not only guided by The Beta Band – the sort of outfit Carlos Tevez could get ‘Being Awkward’ lessons from – but also took three years to go from double A-side to debut album probably wouldn’t have many grounds for complaint if they were approached with caution.

Art-pop is easy – anybody can play Talking Heads sideways and say it’s an epiphany. Good art-pop is another matter. But Django Django have managed it.

The beauty of the Edinburgh quartet’s self-titled first outing is that complex, intricate ideas and rhythms have been melded to make such an accessible sound, gathering in everything from frenetic jungle drums to galloping guitar riffs to chilly electronica.

Get beyond the Beach Boys harmonies and, as well as the Betas, there are echoes of Super Furry Animals, Franz Ferdinand (especially on the brilliantly clipped arrangements of Default), spaghetti Westerns and even, in some of the stoned singing, Manchester’s baggy era.

Most art-pop is either overblown, gauche or just plain impenetrable, but Hail Bop, WOR, Storm and Silver Rays would be more than comfortable in any company.

Where Django Django falls down, however, is the lack of a genuine standout track and suggestions that its creators don’t mind a bit of self-indulgence now and again. Zumm Zumm and Skies Over Cairo, which sounds like Primal Scream remixing Living On The Ceiling by Blancmange, showcase the risks.

But a band capable of making a coherent album out of so many clashing styles, sounding fresh and intriguing when they could have simply baffled and alienated people, has to be taken seriously.