Johnny Foreigner

Lo-fi, pop-punk, speeded-up-Americana, boy-girl vocal sparring, the occasional gem of a lyric and you know you're onto a winner. Birmingham's Johnny Foreigner impressed so much at a club night that the promoter decided to to close the club night and become their manager. Good call! Likewise for me, it was love at first listen.

The band can hardly be accused of being one dimensional with influences seeping through from the likes of Bloc Party to Grandaddy, with harmonies and melodies splattered all over the place and just an overall feeling of hyperactivity for both listener and band. They definately seem to be the type of band who'd be RAWKing just as hard as their fans would be bopping.



Soon to be the next buzz band, á la Los Campesinos!, Johnny Foreigner take you on a bewitching aural journey that leaves you yearning for more. And improved production. But I suppose some of the charm is in the budget recordings and much preferable to potentially over-glossified (that sounds a bit made up doesn't it?) future material.

Sold out debut single 'Sometimes, In The Bullring' sounds like Pavement at their most pulsating, 'SofaCore' builds up wonderfully till its harmonic generator overloads,'Yr All Just Jealous' is a majestic slice of feisty, melodic pop and my favourite 'Yes! You Talk Too Fast' with its pop-punk stylings and silly lyrics (stuff about female pirates and car crashes). All can be downloaded from their MySpace [link].

Johnny Foreigner - SofaCore
Johnny Foreigner - Yes! You Talk Too Fast (almost finished)

To top it all off, the new release on Laundrette recordings is apparently going to have a 3-d cover and come with 3-d glasses. With Johnny Foreigner, the fun never seems to end!