Aereogramme have been around for a good while now, but have never quite progressed as far as they maybe should have. They're massive in Germany, though. One of those bands you either know, or don't: if you know them, you probably love them, but you're in the minority; if you don't, you're missing out, and it's a tragedy. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like 'Seclusion' - their first offering on new label Undergroove since leaving Chemikal Underground - is going to change much. Those that know will continue to love - more so, perhaps - but it's not going to be the one that breaks the industry wide open for them.
In fairness, they are a bit of an acquired taste. Previous albums 'Sleep and Release' and 'A Story in White' are chock full of unmitigated beauty, but there's an edginess, a sort of aural barbed wire around them, that must be navigated before full appreciation can take place. When it does - as it almost inevitably will - it's a marvellous thing, but they make you work.
'Seclusion' is a little different; probably their most accessible work to date. That's not to say they've gone pop and we'll be seeing them in arenas around the country before long. In fact, that experimental edge is very much still present - to the extent that it confused the NME so comprehensively that their reviewer decided 'Seclusion' is a metal record - and is indeed progressed further in certain areas. 'The Unravelling' - all eleven minutes of it (and three sub-songs) - takes Craig B's haunting, ethereal vocals and winds them round, over and under Iain Cook's complex soundscape of guitars, strings and synths in a hypnotic alliance liable to leave you quite breathless, before the wonderfully calming backing vocals of Lynsey Joss allows you to relax a while prior to the continued onslaught.
To give the NME's somewhat baffled scribe his due, Aereogramme
do like to indulge in more than the odd heavy moment, such as the sinister, imposing 'Dreams and Bridges' complementing perfectly the simple buzzsaw power pop of opener 'Inkwell'. There's normally an obvious stand-out-for-the-masses (for 'masses' read people coerced into listening to them by existing devotees) track - last time it was 'Post-Tour, Pre-Judgement', and this time 'Inkwell' looks like it'll fit the bill.
Then there's 'Lightning Strikes the Postman', their rendition of the Flaming Lips track; another one of those heavier moments. Slower-paced and broody, it builds inexorably into an amusingly cheesy solo, the like of which wouldn't seem out of place on something featuring far more spandex. Instrumental closer 'Alternate Score' is a mute anthem for the disenchanted, diving and soaring all over the place, before - if you'll excuse the phrase - a nigh on explosive climax.
It's only got the six tracks on it, but there's not a poor one among them, and if you add to that the little bonus film - 'Seclusion' - in its two incarnations (the first one featuring 'Dreams and Bridges' as the soundtrack; the second explains the name 'Alternate Score'); Chemikal Underground's loss is Undergroove's - and our - gain.
'Seclusion' is out now on Undergroove (UGCD015). www.aereogramme.com www.undergroove.co.uk
Aereogramme - Seclusion 
