Born in the '80s, influenced by
the '90s and bored by the '00s, Leeds-based electro-indie outfit
Apollo Junction have found their
popularity rising over recent months, and it's easy to why. Their
infectious blend of anthemic song-writing and polished pop musicality
has already won over fans at both XFM and the BBC, the latter of
which debuting the band's first single 'Begin' on the Graham Norton
show. As such, it seems unquestionable that the band are going
anywhere but up, and if their recent release 'If I Fell' is anything
to go by, it won't be long before they're a household name.
As far as
Apollo Junction go, 'If I Fell' is them not straying, but waltzing
into true ballad territory. Gone are the pulsing disco beats of
previous releases such as 'Daylight', in their stead, stadium-sized
production on the drums, occasional string trills and a brilliantly
effective piano line. Lyricism has never been the band's strong
point; never bad but hardly poetic. It seems here, however, that
there's been a distinct maturing between singles and 'If I Fell'
comes off all the better for it. Having eschewed the traditional
'party' vibe of their past output, Apollo Junction exhibit here a
never before seen Everyman candour. Like the best song The Twang
never wrote it's also easily the band's strongest to date.
In terms of
slow and heartfelt indie anthems, it's hardly a barren wasteland
should one choose to indulge themselves. But more often than not it
seems, at least these days, that said anthems are more the bands
ticking boxes on the Make-An-Album worksheet as opposed to wanting to
create something special. Indeed it's easier to envision a polo-nosed
Fray, Turner or Gallagher counting out cash rather than pining over a
relationship. Not so the case with Apollo Junction. They're singing
about personal situations and making them universal to the listener,
but it could quite easily be the other way round, making universal
situations personal. Either way the band have come on leaps and
bounds over the year or so they've been on my radar, with each single
more impressive than the last. With 'If I Fell' however, it seems
these five lads from Leeds have cracked it, and it could very well go
to be their breakthrough.
