Voxtrot

They come from Austin, Texas, made their name at SXSW and can sell out consecutive nights at New York’s Bowery Ballroom. But Voxtrot’s spiritual home is not the US, it’s Glasgow; where alternative music really can mean Mogwai-by-day and Optimo-by-night, and where mainman Ramesh Srivastava attended university. The legacy of that Caledonian experience is a band steeped in the fragile melancholy of Belle & Sebastian, but not afraid of drum machines, clever arrangements, squawking sax and incongruous references to nights on the dancefloor “reaching for the lasers”. Significantly, producer Victor Van Vugt has also coaxed a more muscular sound from Voxtrot. Their debut is often closer to Arcade Fire than their own previous soft-focus singles like ‘Biggest Fan’. The sound of a band embracing their creative mettle, without losing their authenticity.

Tony Naylor

8 out of 10