New(ish) London trio The Invisible have been anything but invisible so far this year. Haven’t heard of them? A lot of press coverage has been centred around comparisons to Bloc Party and TV On The Radio. Due to the major differences between them, however these really only draw premise if they were to be mentioned in the same breath reciting a festival line up. The TOTR comparison is inevitable, particularly if one concentrates on something like ‘Golden Age’ from last year’s ‘Dear Science‘,. Both band’s offer diverse (indie rock, psychodelica, jazz, electronic), atmospheric sounds and rolling vocals, although The Invisible are decidedly more minimal and rather less predictable.
Singer/guitarist Dave Okumu, a long time member of London’s jazz scene called upon friends and accomplished musicians Tom Herbert (bass) and Leo Taylor (drums) to assist him in creating his solo project in late 2006. They quickly gelled and became a fully fledged trio, releasing singles in 2007 and 2008 followed by their eponymous debut album in March of this year.
Still think you haven’t heard of them? One song, two words: ‘London Girl’. You may have heard it. Joe from Hot Chip certainly did and proceeded to remix it post-haste. The guys from Hot Chip also invited The Invisible to tour with them, as did Foals and Doves.
If the prospect of a bass driven, jazz-influenced, minimalist TV On The Radio sound intrigues you then ‘London Girl’ is a song to whet your appetite. The fascinating and impressive thing about this band though is that they offer so much more. Guitar-funk verses followed by indie/post rock (shades of Mogwai) chorus heaven on ‘Monster’s Waltz’. Acoustic guitar meanderings partying with funky riffs and sparring male/(guest)female vocals on ‘OK’. All underpinned by well-crafted, sometimes undetected (in my opinion a strong point) electronic contributions to their soundscape.
The Invisible deserve the attention they are getting, as they generate buzz by grafting a path towards a new sound via their strong interpretations of the sounds and genres that have come before them, and all in a much less obvious way than perhaps some other recent, un-named ‘new sound buzz bands’ (Vampire Weekend).
