Will Alphabeat make it over to the US, and if so, will they be huge?

"Fascination" is a great song. The happy-clappy exuberance of the video is a bit much, but I don't require them to be human beings for whom I feel any affinity. Apropos of VeronaInTheClub upthread, they should probably rename themselves The Rabidly Inane Cheerful Cheesy Bastards. But then, that would be irony, and everything would be ruined.

Punchable Pop is the greatest genre name ever. "Fascination" kinda fits the label, as in, waht the fuck are the lyrics about besides vague gibberings about "teenage" and "young dudes" and ghastly twee tidbits like "passion is our passion". Also, the male singer in the video is just asking for a punch with the way he's acting. Nevertheless, great groove and toon.

Boyfriend is a lot better than original mix of Fascination

dont understand how people could hate this!!!!

i think listening to too much balearica has made me soft

they do an acoustic cover of "digital love" that i really like despite having a distaste for 'acoustic' covers

no and yes

I don't get this mob's appeal at all, and I'm not anti-pop by any means.

what is a current pop song you like?

Well I'm not really keeping much of an ear on the charts at the moment. I generally like stuff GA and The Sugababes put out, fairly standard really.

i like my pop songs catchy, so Alphabeat fail by some margin. this is the most baffled i've been since people i typically consider sane came out for the Guillemots.

Fascination and Boyfriend are two of the catchiest European chart Pop songs of the year

i don't even think they're that great or anything but to deny they are catchy just seems so ludicrous

i've heard both but can't remember how either go. (not that i'm complaining, mind.)

is "i can't even remember how they go" the new old "and now or soon to be found at the bottom of the bargain bin in MVE" lazy worthless dismissal among critics?

curiously divisive, this lot. everyone has an opinion!

The funny thing about a band like Alphabeat is that each camp (lovers/haters) tends to assume that they, uniquely, understand, while the other side just dont get it (this sounds like a truism, but as per jabba hands, the whole process is more divisive here). They are the indie equivalent of Ashlee Simpson or even early Britney Spears in this specific sense. Like, pretty much every dismissal of this band I've read implies that lovers of a song like "Fascination" are the indie equivalent of gullible sheep pop fans who can't see how the wool is being pulled over their eyes. There's an implicit Alex in NYC anti-pabulum edge, although of course it's being wielded in reverse.

I think the truth is more complicated. All of my alarm bells went off with this song but I love it anyway, like it turns its dodgy qualities into a plus. Whereas an example of a song that I still like but remain sufficiently conflicted about that I can't love unambiguously is Mint Royale's "Don't Falter".

"Don't Falter" >>>>>>>>>> "Fascination".

And I love "Fascination".

This lot also wouldn't go down at an office party either. Stick to Rihanna and Bon Jovi for that.

i made a bunch of people listen to this and no one liked it :(

Edward, perhaps my feelings are affected by actually being friends with a Britpop/indie-pop revivalist at the time that song came out. She would take me to clubs where everyone dressed up like they were auditioning to join My Life Story and that song and "The Boy With The Arab Strap" would play and everyone would go "crazy" and do skipping-dances on the dancefloor while mouthing the words.

In fact if i went to such a club now I'd probably sour on "Fascination" very quickly.

"Fascination" reminded me of some lost Disney movie song and dance number from, say, "A Goofy Movie."

turns out the Goofy Movie songs I was thinking of in particular were written by Prince for the movie. Mind status = blown, etc

zmfg "DJ" is an earworm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHp-BP4d90o

I like that considerably more than any other Alphabeat tune I've heard.

they have a great producer (no idea, just judging from the way the verses are stacked/constructed).

So there's a new Alphabeat album... I had a viscerally negative reaction to the title track but it's kind of burrowing its way into my head. Since I Met You is my favorite so far.

Had a soft spell for The Spell when that was out, until the middle-8 with the geezer started , "Oi mate, you should be rapping".

started *singing* that should read. The lady looks mightily unimpressed in the video.

Listening to the album clips on Youtube; they've taken a hefty melodic swipe from the 'How Will I Know' chorus in one of the tracks.

Stine released a new single a couple months ago. It's...okay.

But I'm just now listening to the third album from 2012. I put it off so long because I hated The Spell so much. Express Non-Stop turns out to be a HUGE improvement. I wonder if they're done now.

Stine released an entire mini album! It's great, 'Not What I Came For' is my choice pic

AH, so I see. "Karma Town" was the song I'd heard, but after playing "Prototypical" and "Move Forward" I'm a little more into it.

yeh karma town gets a bit annoying after repeated listens
for some reason i thought there was a 10 minute version of prototypical but i'm failing to find it anywhere

Inspired by this thread to listen to 10,000 Nights of Thunder, which is still amazing. Looks like The Spell is on Spotify, but I've never seen Express anywhere.

ENS was apparently only released in Scandinavia, though two of its singles are on US Spotify.

wow they really shit the bed on The Spell, huh? Not that I gave it the most extensive listen, but then, if an Alphabeat song doesn't grab you right away, what's the point?

if an Alphabeat song doesn't grab you right away, what's the point?

Ha! This is so otm.

I never listened to The Spell except for "Always Up With You", which works on account of basically being Felix's "Don't You Want Me".

New single (after a 6 year hiatus). It's decent:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p08vwkde3GM

It's weird how much I love this new single.

This is... fine.

This one is pretty boring.

huh.