DJANGO DJANGO Vinyl & CDs

Review: Every time you get hold of a new album from Django Django, or even just a single, the rush of excitement is real. Formed of friends who met at Edinburgh School of Art, there's always been something unique, highly creative and resolutely fun about their output, straddling dancefloor material with rougher edged alternative rock and plain experimental oddities, leading to the kind of results we've not been lucky enough to experience much of since the demise of the Madchester scene.
In many ways, the quartet have already given us more replay value than the baggy indie era, and Off Planet is arguably the finest hour, and certainly the broadest offering, to date. Tracks like the light and au naturel 'Come Down' contrast the club-ready breakbeat piano rave of 'Complete Me' (which features none other than Self Esteem) or the classical-jungle hybrid 'Osaka'. 'Lunar Vibrations' goes for hypnotising synth pop, 'Galaxy Mood' brings in acidic squelch, 'Dumdum' belongs on DFA. Another triumph.

Review: There are times when you really just have to thank the musical gods for giving you an opportunity to escape from the mundanity of it all. That has been happening on average every three years since Django Django exploded onto a very different-looking music scene back in 2012.

None of us have looked back since, with the two records betwixt this and the self-titled debut serving to lure us deeper into this surreal, arty, muscular, danceable and altogether fun-but-proper musical world. Glowing In The Dark is certainly another trip to add to the adventure, and perhaps fittingly has its genesis in a warped painting rediscovered in drummer and producer Dave MacLean's parents' attic. Aurally, that translates into what might be their broadest and bravest yet - from video game scores to psychedelic pop, acoustic dreams through sweaty, reverb-heavy headline bombs.

Review: Running through their third record, there's a feeling that Django Django have wildly eclectic tastes, and with infectious and nervous excitement want to create music that patches it all together, dodging pigeonholes and subverting their listener's expectations in the process. Stark changes in direction happen from track to track, and often within the songs themselves: take for example the tone set with powerhouse synth-pop opener 'Marble Skies', which is immediately turned on its head with second track 'Surface To Air', a brash and addictive dancehall jam, by the fourth track 'Tic Tac Toe' they're fully immersed in euphoric indie-psych. These changes in gear happen throughout the album, and it's to the band's credit that the individual songs and the album as a whole, bind together so well. This risk-taking is what makes Marble Skies a highly accomplished and ambitious album, but perhaps more importantly, their most fun album so far.

Review: Running through their third record, there's a feeling that Django Django have wildly eclectic tastes, and with infectious and nervous excitement want to create music that patches it all together, dodging pigeonholes and subverting their listener's expectations in the process. Stark changes in direction happen from track to track, and often within the songs themselves: take for example the tone set with powerhouse synth-pop opener 'Marble Skies', which is immediately turned on its head with second track 'Surface To Air', a brash and addictive dancehall jam, by the fourth track 'Tic Tac Toe' they're fully immersed in euphoric indie-psych. These changes in gear happen throughout the album, and it's to the band's credit that the individual songs and the album as a whole, bind together so well. This risk-taking is what makes Marble Skies a highly accomplished and ambitious album, but perhaps more importantly, their most fun album so far.

Review: Always a band operating entirely on their own peculiar wavelength, Django Django have shown no signs of compromise on this follow-up to their successful debut, and true to form have managed to crowbar rich experimentation, naggingly catchy melody and mischievous spirit into a poppy and perplexing gem of an album. Their methods may be mysterious, yet 'Born Under Saturn' never sounds overly mannered or studied in its art, with these art-pop ditties making for some of the most joyful collisions of the cerebral and the immediate in four-minute packages since the glory days of Talking Heads. 'Sophomore slump' be damned.

Review: The long running Late Night Tales series has retained a certain prominence despite the increasing flood of online mixes and podcasts thanks to the concept that's remained its selling point; namely ask a high profile musician, act or band to compile a selection of music to soundtrack the post club twilight hours. Everyone from Four Tet to Bonobo and Trentemoller have featured previously and now it's the turn of London indie troupe Django Django. Overseen by the band's Dave Mclean, this twenty one track selection demonstrates he's got a fine ear for music with cuts from Bob James, Primal Scream, Roy Davis Jnr and Massive Attack sequenced perfectly. The requisite cover version sees Django Django taking on The Monkees whilst Benjamin Cumberbatch is called on to do the closing spoken word honours.