Alphabeat – Love Sea

“Hey, they’ve covered The Who! Oh, wait. What?”

Tim: Hey, they’ve covered The Who! Oh, wait. What?

Tom: OUT HERE IN THE FIELDS! I… huh. Yeah, you’re right, they’ve covered The Who.

Tim: Yes, but then it’s not just that, is it? I mean, have they turned into a multi-target tribute band with telling anyone? Because first there’s the intro, which is, as we’ve agreed, unmistakably almost identical to Baba O’Riley (which is here, for anyone who’s not heard it, in which case they should listen to it now because it’s brilliant), and then there’s the ‘come on closer’ line, which is straight from Whitney Houston’s How Will I Know.

Tom: The first two lines are almost the same as “It’s a quarter after one…” from Lady Antebellum’s Need You Now.

Tim: OH GOD, I hadn’t noticed those as well, but you’re right.

Tom: In fact, almost everything in this track reminds me of something else. It’s strange to listen to: there’s something to be said for familiarity, but this is just plain weird.

Tim: It is, and you reckoned that their last one, Vacation, had similarities to other tracks as well.

Tom: “One two three, you’re in love with me” is probably original, that’s just because all other bands would have rejected it for sounding like it was written by a six-year-old.

Tim: What I want to know is: how did this happen? No-one — but no-one — in the music industry could fail to recognise either of those, surely, so this can’t be accidental. But their first album, with tracks like 10,000 Nights and Fascination was so original and inventive that I just can’t see quite what’s going on.

Tom: Despite all that, it’s still a catchy song.

Tim: Oh, I agree – don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a good track, as however unoriginal parts of it may be, it all goes together very well and sounds great. It’s just – what’s with the lifted stuff?