Varying from one side of your new wave record collection to the other, Carsick Cars fuse the polar opposites within art rock. Tracks set off with the presence and gusto of something set to be in your head all day, but as the guitars rise there is a sense of a liars-esque, strung out, Sonic Youth vibe that comes through very strongly. This escalates until the barrage of guitar feedback and vocals is so gripping you find yourself needing to crank it up just that ever-increasing notch.

I was introduced to them by Amelia, who discovered them during the production of issue 6 of the magazine. After first meeting them for an interview during her trip to Beijing they were again reunited at ATP festival earlier this year. To see them release their debut album, as well as play around the world, has therefore been quite a personal experience.

The undeniable stand out track on the album for me has to be ‘Zhong Nan Hai’. The rolling jangle of guitar and sporadic Theremin style interruptions sit perfectly alongside the fantastically dulcet repetition of ’Zhong Nah Hai’ to create a song that personifies this band. It also has a fantastic interlude of soundscape feedback that sends the listener into dismay, only to slowly be introduced back into some type of structure by the recurrence of the bass line.

Perhaps it was a little naïve of me to single that track out, as the entire album works best as an entire body of work. It’s quite difficult to listen to just one or two tracks, as they all seem to lead on from one another. They really do fly the flag for Singapore’s burgeoning music scene, and if I have to sum up this album I’d say it’s the most entertaining album I’ve heard since ‘Mirrored’ by Battles.