Fiction

Recently it seems to have been all about America, especially the West Coast. Admittedly the new penchant for surf rock doesn’t immediately make you think of Blighty. The Drums might have been put off surfing if they’d have had to contend with the artic North Sea. Good on Fiction then for reppin’ our ends and showing that while we might not be able to get anywhere because of snow we can still do the tropical thing as well as those Yanks.

A London-based four piece who've recently jumped off the Warpaint tour bus, Fiction set tongues a wagging and feet 'a grooving when they played at Offset Festival a few months back. They make music that combines delicate vocals with off kilter percussion just as well as any of the greats. Listen to their upcoming single ‘Big Things’ and you can hear the reverb tropical-punk of Talking Heads, XTC and Yeasayer, but really it’s tropical in the least tropical way possible. These guys take the tube to work, not a surfboard, and so they also stir a very British mean and moody synth pop into the mix. ‘Phyllis’ is definitely at the Maccabees end of the dance-punk spectrum while elsewhere you’ll be reminded of Joy Division. Although, as they point out, every band in the world is influenced by Joy Division so that’s a bit of a lazy comparison.

The band obviously have their quiffs set to stun and their hearts focused squarely on the big time. They’re full of grand statements about how they plan to revive music, and we blimmin’ love that. After all, if you’re going to make it, you’ve got to have a bit of bravado about your mission statement.

In fact, Fiction are already working on their own mythical status. Living up to their name, bassist Daniel Djan told NME journalists that he wears a key round his neck because “My grandfather owns a castle in Germany and I’m just waiting to find that castle. I keep trying with every lock when I go on holiday.” We're expecting to be seeing this on every press statement issued about them from now on.

Fiction then, you might not believe their tall stories but you should believe in them. These guys deserve to be big.