Against the backdrop of a crumbling Irish economy, Bell X1 are bent on lifting the spirits with an apolitically poptastic album for these troubled times.
Named after the first supersonic aircraft, the core trio from County Kildare were once unpromisingly part of the group Juniper fronted by Damien Rice.
The band's four previous albums are big sellers in their native country where they give U2 a run for their money in the radio play lists.
Their brand of soft rock has also gone down well in the States where they have built up a solid fan base.
Success on a similar scale in the UK has so far eluded them but the commercial appeal of this album may just begin to change that.
What sets Bloodless Coup apart from their earlier albums is the total embrace of electro-pop. Instead of the earnest guitar based Indie rock, the best songs here are unashamedly plinky and plastic-coated.
If this was an EP made up of the first four tracks I would have no hesitation in giving the record a ten star rating.
The first of these is Hey Anna Lena, the least immediate of the four but something of a grower.Lyrically, it is quite obscure but a reference to being 5 years old suggests it's possibly based on a memory of a first crush at primary school. Corny lines like "May the force be with you, because you're worth it" and the familiar parental instruction to "eat your greens" give the song an affectionate, domestic atmosphere.
This is followed by the single, Velcro which is simply an instant classic. The melody line has something of the infectious sing-along chirpiness of Paul Simon's Call Me Al and the lyrics are so dumb they're cool.
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"I'll be your tongue - You'll be my groove / I'll be your positive - you'll be my negative / I'll drive the getaway - And you bring the glue / I'll be your velcro".
Nightwatchman is again quite cryptic but a great melody with a grandstanding whoa-ho-ho Arcade Fire type finale.
Track four is Sugar High a sweet and bouncy tune highly reminiscent of Little Creatures era Talking Heads.
Perhaps inevitably, the album doesn't maintain this high standard throughout. Built To Last and 74 Swans show that they haven't entirely lost the worrying tendency towards wishy-washy Coldplay/Travis style ballads.
4 Minute Mile is a one gag song proudly chronicling a life of underachievement.
The disco friendly Haloumi, with its tinny synthetic drum beats lacks a lightness of touch while Safer Than Love could be a Gary Numan cast off.
The rousing and anthemic The Trailing Skirts of God is the best of the second half of the record - the album title comes from this song.
Bloodless Coup is a mixed bag overall but definitely superior to Damien Rice and the energy rush of the first tracks makes it well worth hearing.
Bell X1 website
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