Yves Klein Blue

Talk about an appropriately named release, as drawing attention to themselves is exactly what this Brisbane, Australia four-piece has done in the time their debut EP has passed from being "self-released" to "label-backed." Barely together a year, these next-generation, new wave alt-rockers caught the attention of Aussie's Triple J radio network, which led to the band winning the 2007 installment of MTV's Kickstart competition. The resulting effect has seen the band plastered all over the Down Under and has now dominoed out to these shores.

A wave of cockiness washes over the swaggering jazz meets Lou Reed-esque punk rock, giving Yves Klein Blue that urgent sense of "love us now you fucking dolts," usually reserved for the upper-echelon of rock arrogance. Much of the EP lingers in smart-assed cocktail-lounge restraint, which is plenty entertaining unto itself; but it's the more edgy and explosive moments heard on "Polka" and "Blasphemy" that will carry this band to the ears of today's slam-happy youth. Bits of "19" and "Not What I Want" lend themselves to sarcastic peppiness of Ludo, while "Silence Is Distance" contains traces of The Clash's DNA.

Could Yves Klein Blue be living proof that new-wave Brit-punk has evolved, grown fins and swam across two oceans and taken roots Down Under? Maybe, or they could just be a group of kids lucky enough to stumble across a sound that’s anything but their own. We should have our answer next year when the upcoming full-length drops, but for now just enjoy the hell out of these six songs.

—Ryan Ogle
01.07.09