Saturday Night Gym Club - How To Build A Life Raft (Music Cuisine)

Despite Saturday Night Gym Club giving the impression they're just another band to fall of the conveyor belt- by being yet another niche club- they actually create deliciously moreish music with dashes of electronica and subtle hints of garage. Their debut EP How To Build A Life Raft is a glorious slice of synthpop magic, featuring guest vocals from singer-songwriters Ellie Walker and Chagall and careening through genres, demonstrating dominance in everything they try their hand at. Hailing from Belfast and Manchester, the quartet came to life after they met at university whilst studying sciences, bonding over their addiction to sharp sounds and digital music. Using that love for synths, the group have sculpted an EP replete with pop hooks, dancefloor fillers and intelligent lyrics.

'I Know' features tidal keys, washing and swelling over white noise. The crackling static is punctuated only by the disjointed and lamenting vocals of the silken voiced Ellie Walker. A hauntingly beautiful trip-hop gem, the track sets the bar high for the rest of the EP at a level that SNGC are able to consistently keep to.

Calvin Harris-esque number 'A Green Light' showcases 90s trance pads, almost-but-not-quite dubstep rhythms in the chorus and gluey lyrics, crafted to stick in your mind. 'The Ballroom Scene' is reminiscent of brief powerpop group Ou Est Le Swimming Pool, who were unfortunately cut short by frontman Charlie Haddon's suicide. There are kitsch licks in the track, bouncing synths following a tinkling piano melody and foot stomping drums. Everything about the song screams 'dance'. “Move across the ballroom like your life depends on it” echoes through the chorus, the melodic urgency reverberating around the expanse of sublime aural pleasure.

'This One Will' is the most daring effort on the EP. Guest vocals by Dutch electronica artist Chagall are dripping with heavy-hearted sorrow, and the drum machine drops to half-time to combine with the wob-wob of dubsteppy bass. The breathy sound builds up with criss-crossing synth layers, all swirling and dissipating like storm clouds. Tracks like this are what will set SNGC apart from the cookie-cutter electro-indie currently saturing the scene.

With an album due to drop late 2012, and a debut EP as impressive as this, Saturday Night Gym Club have a bright future ahead of them, no doubt about that. The EP relies heavily on creating an atmosphere, and it will be interesting to see if that translates well to live performances, and if they can repeat the standard they have set with How To Build A Life Raft.