The Receiver - Length Of Arms (Vital Music Records : 2010)

The opening track, "Keep the Desert", buzzes into life, a heavily electronic inflected rock song, synths groaning and sawing within the constructs of a loosely defined rock sound. It is with some chagrin that the buzz is that the 80's have returned- they have indeed- which does not bode well for those of us exposed to the mainstream, but perhaps it does portend good things for the indie community. Possibly.

Intriguely though, this album flirts with the electronic world, filling out each of their songs with a variety of synths that are at once vaguely alien, but mixed into chiming piano and twinkling electronics to create this strange sense of distant comfort. It evokes a very early 80's approach to indie, in that these are not the sugar rush electronics that were synonymous with that era, but rather focusing more on the lush strangeness that was so predominant in that pioneering underground scene. But, and this is, if nothing else, remarkably astute, the Receiver have married this predelection for electronics to a meat and gristle of guitar and drums. This is, at heart, a band, even if they are more interested in the atmospherics of many of their New York contemporaries as opposed to writing sing-along songs, mass-crafted for the ears of in the "new" indie crowd. And although the surrounding instrumentation reminds me somewhat of a early 80's approach, do not mistake me. This is very much a band of this moment in time, and one that fits neatly into the lexicon of the new decade.

And the band have some pop chops, knocking in track after track that although they at once seem distant, and internalized, they are cultivated towards the radio friendly sensibilities enjoyed by many of the indie brethren. The band display a knack for creating pretty songs- I shall be astonished if something like "Visitor" or "Intervals" is not snapped up by some savvy TV show, looking to promote their credibility through relatively new artists. Of course, the criticism will likely be levelled that this band are just not weird enough to garner the raving attentions of the critical powers that be, and, in fairness, there is something familiar about this group- a sort of New York indie take on someone like the Electric Soft Parade, or akin to what Postal Service might have been had they allied their vision with Death Cab for Cutie, as opposed to Dntel.

But having said this, I find this album to be a rather better photograph of many of the bands of the internet age- bands such as Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin or Bishop Allen, beloved by many in the internet world, and yet, for most, unable to really break through into a more critical world. The latter bands are too often criticised as being derivative, and thus only a surface level approximation of the modern age of "indie rock". They do not appeal to the heavy indie fans (obsessed, generally, with the extremes of indie rock) but at the same time, lacking appeal to the more mainstream. The Receiver take the upbeat sensibilities of song structure embodied by many of these artists, but emphasise the use of modern electronics and space. They have studiously observed the sense of alien distance, mastered by artists such as the Walkmen, Radiohead, or Sigur Ros, but taken that idea into the realm of modern indie song, to create something that hovers between the electronic, pop rock, and post rock. It is an interesting mix, especially considering how strong their pop sensibilities are.

This is a band just waiting to happen. In the event that nothing comes of this album, I would imagine that the momentum being gained should bring them out into the limelight before