31Ø8 - 31Ø8 (BLU) (CD)

Release Date: 02/24/17

Rock music with keen pop sensibilities, covered in a nice layer of fuzz / RIYL: Jesus And Mary Chain, American Culture

Having a band with a special character in its name is always tricky - unless you're from northern Europe (which 31Ø8 isn't - they're from London), you're gonna have a hard time typing out their name, much less saying it. It's 3-1-zero-8 in case you were wondering... Anyways, following their self-titled debut on Trouble In Mind Records from 2014, here we have their second self-titled album - differentiated by a change in ink color, hence the suffix '(BLU)'. Oh, and now's a good time to mention that this isn't even a full band, but rather the solo project of a fellow named Kyle, who used to go by 'Tyler'. Now that I've fully confused you, let's discuss the music: at its core, it's rock music with keen pop sensibilities. That is, these are basically simple pop songs, but everything - guitars, vocals, synth-bass and electronic drums - is covered in a layer of fuzz, sounding like some hybrid of Loop and mid-period Jesus And Mary Chain, while more modern-ish references include Honeyrider and Jigsaw's own American Culture & Super Paradise. Not an easy record to describe, but very easy to get into.