Across the ocean in America, an eight piece band have been busy working hard on their debut album Southern Gothic’. Now they are ready to unleash some live music on the UK, with some tour dates, and a single release. My first impressions are of a band that pack quite a punch with both their vocal performances, and instrumentation.

The first track on the CD, ‘Setback’, explores the bands synth/electronica side, and yes I would agree with those who might pigeonhole the sound as being quite space age/psychedelic. It has elements of 80’s/New Wave sounds hidden in the arrangements, and a quirky female vocal adds to the urgency in the pace of the track. The overall focus though for me, is on the drums which rhythmically explode early on in the song. This track is followed by the charmingly titled ‘Love Is A Murder’, and although I doubted the wisdom of listening to this just before Valentines Day, I really enjoyed the song. Out of the two tracks, this is the one with the broader, more radio friendly appeal, and a very catchy melody. Smooth slightly poppy vocals smoothly work their way through the choruses, while there’s also a rap, and a slightly fuzzy electro sound in the verses. All in all, it’s harmonic, well produced, and possibly my favourite of the two tracks.

I think including both ‘Setback’, and ‘Love Is Murder’ on their single release is a wise move, and one that will fully illustrate their potential as a multi-faceted band. They can do the alternative/psychedelic tunes, and they can appeal to a mass audience too. For someone who doesn’t normally listen to this genre of music on a personal level, I found I enjoyed this CD more than I expected.

‘Setback’ is released on March 8th. For further information and gig details visit www.theconstellationsmusic.com