Something is afoot in the in the Midlands. Gazelle, The Assist, The Pagans SOH, The Cosmics and now, Ivory Wave. The Brummie four piece are gathering momentum rapidly with their blend of Madchester, 00s indie-punk and the finer points of Foals.
In 1988, Factory Records and the Happy Mondays put out 'Rave On' EP. Calling on Paul Oakenfold and Steve Lilywhite for remixes, they changed popular music forever. Ivory Wave's tracks are begging for the next big DJ/producer to come along and unite guitars and dance music once more. In fact, on 'Separate Beat' and 'Club', its hard not to hear Oakenfold doing something special.
Like the Mondays, no one sounds like Ivory Wave currently. Latest single 'Gold' has production values akin to Primal Scream on their 'Chaosmosis' album. 'Cool Kids' merges Black Grape and The Twang, but frankly, is so fresh, the sound is theirs. The minimalist drums, psyche wobble, sax, and venomous vocals are going to blow a hole through dance floors in the UK.
*Image courtesy of Luke Jones