How many musicians find the right line up with which to accomplish their exact goals? The answers is ‘few’, respectively. It is from this eternal conundrum that Go Native have been born.
Following the departure from another unnamed band, , the indie-electronicists are approaching this project with renewed vigour.
The three tracks presented on Soundcloud (and via their Facebook Bandpage) are from their forthcoming release ‘Beaten By Butterflies’. All signs seem to point to the band being active in this form from late last year, and one must assume that parts of their previous outfit have gestated thoroughly to create this material; the songs are well formed and concise, with strong melodic content and very little fat.
With a bleep and skittering samples, ‘Napoleon’ kicks off the tracks with some unyielding lyrical context. ‘You’ve grown yourself a backbone/gone eye to eye and bared your teeth’, in a song titled ‘Little Man Syndrome’, isn’t pulling any punches, though a cursory listen to the glittering orchestration pulls the casual listener to the confident melodies and baiting, sing-along chorus. The ambient build up section feels a touch too long, though this will no doubt have more dynamism in a live setting.
‘Stockholm’ is less forgiving, the Spartan string swells a well-judged juxtaposition with the disco drums. Alex Kirk’s bassline is surprisingly reserved on first listen, but with such an intense delivery on the vocals from Nick Toone, the separation makes sense. Singing at the top of his range, the simple, catchy chorus and strong melody has more impact, and the extra whooshing sounds on top give the piece an almost Ultravoxian air.
The final track, ‘Dunes’, sadly contains no giant worms, spice, or Kyle MacLachlan. Instead, it exists as the most interesting track released so far, taking more dynamic risks and pushing the vocals to their absolute limits. The weak link in the chain comes from the production, which takes a back seat when attempting to give the correct weight to the guitar break; the drums and bass lack the gravity required to elevate the song to a euphoric, powerful conclusion.
Irrespective of the first-release nature of this material, the songs presented show a band truly involved in what they are creating, and one can only imagine that the full record will bring their vision into sharper focus. There’s still work to be done, but Go Native are well on their way to being a band for the future, and the material on offer here shows no small amount of diversity and courage. A solid 4.
Check out the release below: