Django Django have been on the periphery of many musical radars since 2009 when songs like 'Storm' and 'Love's Dart' found their way onto the internet, showcasing the sort of promise which saw utterances like "ones to watch" and "keep an eye on these guys" hurled their way. The Scots/Irish four-piece, named after one of Belgian guitar virtuoso Django Reinhardt's teachers who, unfortunately for him, was afflicted with a debilitating stutter, are neither Belgian and nor do they play anything even resembling jazz. Instead, Django Django's self-titled debut is a curious patchwork of its undoubted influences (hello The Beta Band) and a fresh, intricately crafted pop sensibility. It's also the first really satisfying record of 2012.
To compare Django Django to The Beta Band is an easy one to make. Both bands posses(ed) a rainbow of similar traits, everything from song structure to pacing to composition and more. It's hardly surprising, then, to learn that drummer David MacLean's older brother John was in The Beta Band.
Almost every song on the album is appealing, perhaps none more than lead single 'Default' with its effect-laden vocals and pounding beat deserving of repeat listens. The aforementioned (and slightly tweaked) 'Storm' and 'Love's Dart' show face in the collection too. Elsewhere, 'Life's A Beach' and 'Hail Bop' are also standouts.
With their debut, Django Django have seamlessly stepped into the position once occupied by The Beta Band. That's not to say that the album is pastiche or a facsimile of something that's come before, originality is fundamentally at the core of everything on the record. You can bet the big brother would be proud though.
