27-May-2010

Blunt

The brainchild of Alex Elbery, Stereoflower possesses the raw grit and emotional weight that forms the cornerstone of the best heart-wrenching indie-rock.

Recalling Broken Social Scene, right up to the interludes that act as breathers between aural assaults, Stereoflower feel like they're pouring everything into every song, and it's this imperfect beauty that reallly lifts this debut.

Rocker "We All Think You're Dreaming" has a stomping beat and rich layers behind Elbery's great vocals not a world away from the Strokes' Albert Hammond Jr's last record.

Elsewhere, the band show their love of psych-pop and groove-laden psychrock.

If Elbery gets compared to Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst, he can rest happy knowing this is a far sight more mighty than anything that Nebraskan has done in a while.

BRONWYN THOMPSON