polaroids of androids

It's because of groups like WOW that I find electronic pop chart-toppers like The Presets and Cut Copy so incredibly dull. Whilst technically pigeonholed in the same field, the Sydney duo separate themselves from the others by creating music free of tiresome cliches and overly obvious influences. The two tracks on this, their debut 7" release, literally burst out of the speakers with hard disco punches and pop sensibility.

The A-side, Common Species, is pure pop bliss. The homemade feel of the music attached to the chest-thumping bragging creates a lovely contrast. The fury of electronic overlays, coming and going as they please amongst the continual pounding background, makes for a highly enjoyable three minutes of structured chaos.

On the B-side, When You're Dead, the method of attack is very similar, but given a slightly darker edge with the male vocals stripping away a lot of the carefree fun. The track, in a blaze of punk-like chanting, collapses into a messy heap, knocking home the idea that this group isn't happy simply following a linear path with their music.

If there is one sour point to the sound of WOW it's that the lyrical content is heavily overpowered by the strong musical backdrop. The punk drawl in which the lyrics are delivered almost allows me to forgive the shallow nature of them, but ultimately this is a key factor that will restrict repeat listens. That said, this is fun music which, with it's combination of accessible up-tempo bumps and angst-driven power moves, is not only original, but also incredibly addictive.

Partly due to the abrupt end, yet also because of the large array of ideas presented, I long to hear more from WOW. This short, almost faultless, EP achieves exactly what it aims to do - leave the listener slightly unfulfilled. Hopefully, this is just an entree to a much larger feast of creative electronic music from the duo in the not too distant future.