The Alphabox is an electro pop duo who, given the evidence presented in their EP “Collecting Stones”, are somewhat prone to darker thoughts. Given that they hail from West Lothian that is perhaps no surprise nor, therefore, is their choice to give their programmed rhythms that bleak retro sound.
So, “Collecting Stones” starts off this EP with not even a modicum of smiles or much in the way of melody but this is just the introduction for “Flash Harry" then rapidly scales their sound out and up and reminds me, in consequence, of the kind of old style electro pop that used to trouble the charts before high resolution digital clarity was invented. As if to further demonstrate that The Alphabox is more shadows than sunlight, “Floating In Good Days” then floats you off in a plastic boat adrift on a river of melancholy while “Running Away” keeps the feeling so relentlessly downbeat that anyone might conclude that said liquid melancholy was the source of this band’s inspiration.
Not a shiny shiny band by any means, The Alphabox could nevertheless capture your ears if your mood, like the weather, is grey and overcast.