86TVs – 86TVs

Label: Parlophone
Released: 2nd August 2024

86TVs’ self-titled debut album crashes onto the indie rock scene like a tidal wave of nostalgia laced with neon-bright hope for the future. It’s a record that feels both comfortingly familiar and thrillingly new, much like finding a cherished childhood toy upgraded with laser beams and a jetpack.

Opening track ‘Modern Life’ sets the tone, a soaring anthem that makes listeners want to climb to the highest rooftop and scream their existence into the void (in a good way). It’s the sonic equivalent of that first sip of coffee on a Monday morning – a jolt of energy wrapped in a warm embrace.

But it’s ‘Komorebi’ that steals the show, a gentle giant of a song that builds from a whisper to a roar, leaving one emotionally wrecked but somehow stronger for it. It’s the kind of track that’ll have people staring out of rain-streaked windows, contemplating the beauty of impermanence and the impermanence of beauty.

The album’s not all introspective navel-gazing, though. ‘Higher Love’ is the sort of song that’ll have even the most committed wallflowers inadvertently tapping their feet. It’s as if the band bottled the feeling of 2am on a perfect night out, when everything seems possible and your best friend is everyone.

While tracks like ‘Spinning World’ and ‘Pipe Dream’ may not quite reach the dizzying heights of the album’s standouts, they contribute to the overall tapestry of sound that 86TVs weave throughout the record. The band’s refusal to be pinned down to a single genre results in an eclectic journey that, while occasionally meandering, never loses its sense of adventure. ‘Worn Out Buildings’ showcases the band’s ability to craft grandiose, anthemic choruses, while the album closer ‘Dreaming’ provides a fittingly introspective and cathartic conclusion.

86TVs have crafted a debut that’s as complex and contradictory as the era it springs from. It’s an album that wrestles with big emotions and bigger ideas, all while keeping one foot firmly on the dancefloor. Is it perfect? No. But it’s perfectly imperfect, a beautiful kaleidoscope of a record that captures the exhilarating confusion of being alive right now.