It’s quite an achievement for any act to get into The Guardian’s Best Tracks list. Being comapred to the late, great David Bowie is also something not to be sniffed at, as is making it to number six on NME’s 100 New Artists for 2017 list. This is exactly the situation Artificial Pleasure find themselves in as the 21 April release of their debut EP Like Never Before draws ever closer. Having put out three singles so far – this month’s All I Got, and last year’s I’ll Make It Worth Your While, and the appropriately named Bolt From The Blue – the small catalogue of tunes nevertheless leaves little to the imagination when it comes to hype for the full EP next month.
Bolt From The Blue is a pounding, urgent, and somehow ice-cool introduction, with a blaring, fuzz-drenched bassline from Dom Brennan, and Phil McDonnell providing vocals that make the Bowie comparisons seem very fitting. Purky, funk enfused guitar, and an infectious hook for a chorus followed by a power-ballad style, synth heavy bridge are the orders of the day for I’ll Make It Worth Your While, while recent release All I Got continues in a similar vein, with an equally groovy bassline and screeching guitars providing impotus.
Phil McDonnell, Dom Brennan and Lee Jordan formed Artificial Pleasure out of the ashes of previous band Night Engine, providing vocals and guitar, synths and drums respectively, and have recently joined up with bassist Rich Zbaraski to solidify a clearly developing sound.
Mixing and producing the vast majority of their tracks themselves, the sound is perfect for the live stage, and should be expected to have crowds bouncing when they play Live at Leeds festival later this year. The tantalising glimpse into the sound we’ve been given so far has got us itching for the release of their debut EP Like Never Before in April, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for Artificial Pleasure.
