Album #60: The Orielles – Disco Volador

• Released: 2020
• Origin: Halifax, England
• Label: Heavenly Records
• Best Track: 7th Dynamic Goo

For a band hailing from the keen-tongued, no-nonsense heart of West Yorkshire, The Orielles’ brand new second album really is über-cool stuff. Jazz, dancy, funky – it’s a real space-rock adventure.

Disco Volador is at times reminiscent of the avant-pop of Stereolab, and others the dreamy side of Britpop championed by the likes of Dubstar and Lush. The shuffling drums and ice-cool keyboards of ‘Come Down on Jupiter’ set the exploration underway, but just a minute and a half in, we’re taken by surprise as the guitars kick in and the song transforms into a catch, poppy piece of driving indie.

It’s a regular theme on an album where sounds seem to jump around and changes of pace are commonplace, giving the whole thing an almost improvisational feel. Highlights include the disco-funk jam of ‘Bobbi’s Second World’ and the angular yet effortlessly groovy ‘7th Dynamic Goo’.

Somehow among all this, an intergalactic theme remains intact. It’s a crucial listen, even for someone as unfashionable as I am.