SPECTOR – CELESTINE
Released 21st May 2012 (Polydor Records)

Words: Rebecca Dixon

Nominated for the BBS’s Sound of 2012 award and having just finished touring with Florence and the Machine, there was no doubt that the Dalston five-piece were going to be destined for big things this year and Celestine being named Zane Lowe’s ‘hottest record of the week’ just confirmed this. Despite sounding a bit like the Editors and Kaiser Chiefs, Spector are definitely establishing their own place in the music world.

It is a much bigger record than previous singles such as Chevy Thunder yet somewhat predictable. However, this predictability in no way takes anything away from the magnitude of the song as right from the beginning of hearing the first flashy guitar riff we know that this track is going to be epic. The instrumentation on this track demands your attention throughout with the punchy drums and bass yet renders you surprisingly willing to listen again and again.

Fred Macpherson delivers each line with such rigour that the lyrics also demand your attention even though they may not be the most thought provoking. The verses in Celestine also hold their own with their delivery and do not get lost in the midst of demanding instrumentation and a more than ridiculously catchy chorus. Spector play on the fact that they have been labelled an ‘indie band’ by producing a particularly indie video.  They basically attempt to mock other indie videos (how not indie of them) and in fact do it quite well. The catchy chorus ultimately drives the song despite not completely overshadowing the other elements and is what will most likely establish this song as an ‘indie anthem’ especially this summer.

The smaller elements added to this song such as the acapella section in the final chorus is what makes this song all the more massive. It may not be the most thought provoking or life changing song; however it is a lot of fun and a good introduction to what Spector’s album Enjoy It While It Lasts will be like in August. Ultimately it is just a bloody good song.