Stairs To Korea - All Of Your Friends

Label: Brainlove Records Release date: 11/01/10 Stairs To Korea MySpace What to do in a post-Max Tundra and post-Yorke world? Pop music with a scatterbrained heart of Roland seems like an idea for the select few who do it well (the aforementioned folks are two shining examples). It’s a hugely pleasant surprise then that Will Vaughan, the father brain behind Stairs To Korea, can join the ranks of the masters of electronic pop with guitars. While at first listen, All Of Your Friends seems like part ‘Will Get Fooled Again’ mixed with a dash of ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again,’ by the first instrumental break it becomes apparent that Vaughan’s music exists in a wholly unique sphere. Insistent bass pulses, gently flanged synths, and bells mix with his selectively harmonized vocals for an overall great post-chorus and second verse (and some great lyrics – “Do we separate kitsch from camp?”) against the melodica and deep kick of the chorus. Just the right air of melancholy pulls the song together in the end, with delicately strummed chords ruminating at the finish of the single. Stairs To Korea show huge promise to be a new paragon of electronic pop that actually shows intelligent thought. And as much as I hate to compare him to Max Tundra, it’s the closest artist he sounds like, but he doesn’t have the prog tendencies that Ben Jacobs does. In fact, his lack of those ideas makes him a better and more original artist. Rating: 8/10