The Naked and Famous pull out all the stops in their new single ‘Bury Us’, a delightfully kooky electropop tune mashing the best styles the band has built up over the years.

Their indie-pop stylings hit their full stride in this lead single, each lyric set to the grooviest backing rhythms, each beat pulsing with the sound of mischief, mayhem, and possibility. Singer Alisa Xayalith’s satin-like voice is perfect for the rambunctious composition; it remains faint during the bass and drum solos yet clear as day when the meanings need to be conveyed. The drum and synth machines constituting the bulk of the instrumentation also add a cohesive layer onto the arrangement, keeping the mood light and digestible. 

It is a thrilling effort from the band, one that demonstrates their best impulses in terms of the clarity of their sound and identity. It also proves why they continue to be New Zealand’s most beloved; they have got attitude, their love for music is spilling through each and every note, and they keep going at it year after year. The band formed in 2008 in Auckland, where the band members developed two extended plays--This Machine and No Light, and they subsequently released their first album Passive Me, Aggressive You. One of their first singles ‘Young Blood’ received outstanding accolades throughout the world, including the sought-after number 1 ranking in the New Zealand national music charts. 

Since then, the band has become one of the most popular acts in contemporary New Zealand, their work garnering a multitude of awards in their native country. They would hope to repeat, if not eclipse, that level of success through their latest album Recover, set to be released in 2020. Speaking on how they approached their new album, they say;

At first, we were at odds - on completely different pages. We tried a handful of writing sessions. Most of them were only semi-productive, many of them were duds. We finally hit our stride in the summer of 2018, when most of the new music and sonic-direction was established. The first song from this eureka-period was, 'Recover'. It was an energising sonic palette and a mission statement for what this album was going to be about.”

 Indie-Pop 

Author: Shaoni Das

Shaoni Das is a writer/editor currently based in Edmonton, Canada. She remains eager to inspect how the changing culture of music impacts upon the greater world.