Born from “years of failure, both as a musician and human being”, Insect Heroes debut album, Apocalypso, is anything but a catastrophe, a weird and wonderful collection of eccentric pop gems that stands up as one of the most adventurous records of the year so far.
Lead single ‘Pop Music’ is the centrepiece of the record, propelled by a primitive rhythm section, before chief Insect Hero George Thomas delivers the line “I sold my soul for another shot at pop music”, it’s brilliantly tongue-in-cheek stuff that considers whether this pop business really means anything at the end of the day, in the words of Thomas himself: “I’d like to make a more positive contribution, maybe do youth work, or perhaps work more towards creating more environmentally and socially sustainable communities.”
A relatable existential no doubt, but elsewhere there’s a party happening, take the cowbell driven, aptly named ‘King Fabulous’ with its proclamation that “tonight I just don’t give a fuck, tonight I’m drinking in the V.I.P. lounge, tonight I’m fucking fabulous”, and the all-too-danceable ‘Strobe Lights’ which segues from a claustrophobic verse into a soaring chorus.
‘Beautiful World’ is another standout, balancing a melancholy spoken opening, a 60s pop influence, some quite beautiful guitar breaks that really benefit from the headphone treatment and the best chorus on the album, there’s shades of Strawberry Jam era Animal Collective in the tropical title track, probably the most relaxed, chillaxed song about the end of days ever committed to tape, while the dreamy, gorgeous ‘Marionette’ and it’s homage to romance is a quite disarmingly straightforward three minutes, even more powerful in the context of a record that frequently descends into a surreal soundscape.
There’s some remarkably assured songwriting across the board here, conjuring up the often humorous social commentary that The Kinks became so adept at, but to their credit Insect Heroes resist comparison, standing on their own six legs, letting their own take on pop music do the talking.
Words: Craig Angus
