Altsounds - The B of the Bang - Alfred, Light the Fires [Single]

Manchester City fans in particular will no doubt approach The B of the Bang with trepidation, as they share a name with a rather gaudy looking sculpture that sits rusting outside their stadium, ready to impale a hapless passer-by with its rather large precarious spikes. The sculpture’s future remains doubtful, as many consider it to be a human Shish kebab waiting to happen (one of its spikes has already dropped off); but what of the future of its namesake?

Well “Alfred Light the Fires” is their debut single, so it’s a little too early to make any bold predictions yet, but the signs aren’t good on this evidence. The vocals veer towards Broadway audition, too trained and self conscious. “Alfred Light the Fires” is part saloon music, part bluegrass, part Andrew Lloyd Webber, but no part endearing. They’ve tried to produce something different, so kudos for that, but it’s just all a little too jazz-hands and doesn’t actually have a strong enough song at its core.
The first b-side, an acoustic version of “Lung”, is just plain drab and in no way worthy of further mention. Second b-side, a remix of “Alaska”, is actually the most interesting track on the disc, mixer Hexa Decibelz doing a nice job of building on what is already their finest song by far, using moody bass sounds to add even greater atmosphere and climate.

Such a diverse array of sounds on this short a disc make it hard to evaluate The B of the Bang, as it’s hard to tell exactly how they want to sound. Based on what is crammed onto these three tracks though, you’d hope its “Alaska” that they return to. Ironically it’s the warmest place they’ve visited so far.