aaamusic | On 28, Jun 2011

Torches is a rare treat: unashamedly upbeat indie-lite pop that doesn’t even come close to falling into the massively irritating, self-consciously twee sound that so many favour for reasons unknown to me.  Lo-fi, punchy earworms crossed with gentle electronics is the winning combination here, a formula that’s successfully consistent over the whole 10 tracks, though probably best showcased in I Would Do Anything For You and Pumped Up Kicks. You won’t find any heavy introspection here – though you could be forgiven for thinking tracks like Miss You entail exactly that kind of thing, even the more ‘emotionally charged’ tracks on the album are overflowing with frenetic dance beats and compelling little hooks. One of the most genuinely enjoyable and fresh albums of the year, definitely not to be missed.

Author: Katharine Sparks