Empire Circus

Two Door Cinema Club have a lot to answer for. There's no question that Empire Circus take their cue from the Bangor trio, but there is more to these Dubliners than jerkiness and jangles. True, their tendency to lapse into catchy-but-indistinguishable indie-pop makes for predictable moments on their debut album, but there are also tunes that aim to catch the listener off-guard. Take the squally synth of Currents, where the four-piece brilliantly meddle with tempo and texture; the Delorentos-like A Day in the Life of a Superhero , which displays an understanding of groove and pace; and Planting Seeds, which effusively ticks the "melodic singalong" box. A shorter album would have packed a tighter punch, but Empire Circus have hit upon a formula that largely works. weareempirecircus.com
Download: Currents, Planting Seeds