Avenue61 is a leading indie music site that specialises in album and gig reviews, breaking new bands, publicising events, and exclusive interviews with the leading cutting edge acts in the alternative music scene. Avenue61 covers a wide range of artists – some you would have heard of, some you won’t. Artists the site has reviewed recently include the Fleet Foxes, MGMT, Noisettes and Ladyhawke. The site is updated regularly so come back to catch up the latest news and reviews from the bleeding edge of the alternative music scene.

Ok, so first off I must iterate the fact that this particular run down is in no particular order, nor is it a definitive list of the best British record labels of all time (as if such a breakdown could ever be truly quantified). It is simply a list of some personal favourites within the British...MORE>>

Three top 20 albums, three top 20 singles, a film soundtrack and a band member lost to somewhat Indie obscurity. All of which add up to a band who have been cited by many as the most exciting live bands of the past decade. Enter. British Sea Power.

With some half a decade’s worth of experience now behind them, the past six years have seen British Sea Power evolve from supercilious,

Indie upstarts to the mature proponents of increasingly introverted, explicitly ominous, highly orchestrated, experimental pop.

The band’s often relentless ability to wander seamlessly between moments of ear-to-the-speaker intimacy and  instances of densely symphonic noise-scapes allude the listener to any real linearity within the compositions, yet the songs are never overly punctuated, always flowing immaculately from one musical idea to the next.

‘A Forest’ is itself an awkwardly charming foray into the darkly

understated world of British Sea Power. The highly energetic opening drum interlude is a misleadingly upbeat approximation for what follows. Discordant guitar breaks, melancholic vocals & esoteric lyrics create a mesmerising assault upon the senses.

It would be so easy to find innumerable comparisons for British Sea Power, but it would also be rather belittling to do so. British Sea Power nod to their individual influences without wearing these influences so blatantly upon their sleeves.

It seems in a world of such cut and paste, perfected, exacted, fashion shifts, British Sea Power are one of the last few advocates of individualism, neither bending nor bowing to forced musical or visual trends. In fact, it seems British Sea Power could not be less interested in the notion of cool, and frankly, the British music scene is all the better for it. Whereas so many alternative  acts choose to openly opt into every rock & roll cliché there is, exerting their popularity for a matter of seconds until the next ‘cool’ act comes along, British Sea Power are insolently without pomp or circumstance, choosing instead, good melodies, good lyrics and a good outlook, all performed with passion and heart.

Such a strange, organic creature is British Sea Power that is seems almost impossible to chart a trajectory for them to follow. They are logically abstract with their choices regarding musical direction, artistic outlook & promotional activities, opting towards a dyad of live performances of their latest offering as opposed to a fully-fledged plundering of the British Isles. However, where the public is concerned, perhaps a veering towards deprivation will be more beneficial than shameless self-promotion. Maybe superstardom is not awaiting British Sea Power, but then again, maybe it is. With British Sea Power, it would a contrariety to argue otherwise.