Everything Everything - Arc

The second album from the Mercury Prize-nominated Manchester act, Arc shows promise for the third album but may not last long in the memory due to inconsistency and evident chart seeking. After an artistic debut in 2010 (Man Alive), Everything Everything (EE) have siphoned the creative freedom for Radio One friendly structure and risk losing a sizeable fan chunk in the pursuit of mainstream recognition.

Fittingly, the record begins with its two singles, Cough Cough and Kemosabe. These fit the airwaves but offer little in originality and are overshadowed by more accomplished pop releases. Torso of the Week through to Armourland do not inspire, there is obvious imagination straining to reach the surface in flickers but it is constrained by conventional indie stylings and so lies dormant until later.

By the time The House is Dust comes around the album has slowly come to life, the obvious shackles of making hit songs slipping aside and showing the real EE. The opening drips with atmosphere as Jonathan Higgs’ lone falsetto is shrouded by solemn production interspersed with a bone rattle percussion, and suddenly the parts merge as they have on EE’s best work in their short career. It is irresistible and you wonder how good Arc could have been with this level of engagement from the start. The track ends with Coldplay-like starkness and the band do not sound a million miles away from the top league in this moment.

Radiant is a slick effort which maintains the freshness of the previous track, while closer Don’t Try should have been the first single. Possibly the best track on Arc, it has an infectious chorus and will be a staple at concerts with its sing along hooks. This should be a platform for the next phase of EE and hopefully the soaring highs of Arc will form a stepping stone. Now the band cannot look back and must realise its best sound to keep climbing the charts towards the number one spot they covet.