National Music Reviews
THE LOCAL DIVISION
PURE ELECTRIC LIGHT E.P.
Aeronaut Records
Singer Ian Christian and guitarist Mati met at a Mark Gardener (Ride) show. The only problem was that Ian lived in the UK and Mati was from Los Angeles. Regardless, they’ve released this rather interesting E.P. The first two tracks lift the early heavy strumming from the Bunnymen’s Will Sergeant and marry them to The Stone Roses and it works rather well. It is however the following two tracks that really catch my attention. Take that bounce that kept the first Interpol album rolling forward underneath the thick atmosphere and give it a more conventional vocal (yes I realize that, in a strange way, takes as much away from the sound as it might add), and you’ve got a fair idea of what The Local Division sound like. Hopefully the distance won’t keep them from releasing a proper full length.
This review originally appeared in Glitter Gutter Trash, February 2005, Issue 194.