My experience of Official Secrets Act began just over a year ago (March eighteenth 2008 to be precise), they headlined a set at The Eastney Cellars that blew me away with their raw new-wave sound, songs that were both immediate and interesting and most of all, the fact that they were all lovely guys, friendly and very open. In fact, I’ve been dying to hear some recorded content ever since, so when the nice folks at One Little Indian sent me their debut album for review, I was happier than Larry (actually, their bass player, Laurence, seemed a very happy guy, so I might be wrong). It’s clear from the off that the album presents a very different OSA than the tracks previously adorning their myspace. Gone are the raw sounds in favour of a touch of gloss, the hard edges softened up for the listening masses. Not that this limit’s the power of the songs themselves of course, you can sheath a sword but the blade still lurks beneath. In fact my favourite track, ‘Girl From The BBC’ actually seems to benefit from higher production values, the spiky punk sound morphing into a pop-tastic tune that deserves huge amounts of radio play! On the likes of ‘A Head For Herod’ the guys even slacken the pace a little bit, delving deftly into the territory normally occupied by White Lies and The Joy Formidable and proving a match for them both. What we have here then is a batch of modern new-wave tracks, fluffed up a little for mass consumption but still packing a punch. Check these guys out now, if there is any justice in the world, they’ll be huge by next year!
check out OSA at: www.myspace.com/officialsecretsact
