Review: Superorganism

They’ve been described as ‘the band for the internet age’ and it’s easy to see why. Seventeen-year-old lead vocalist Orono Noguchi met four members of what would become Superorganism online. From there, two extra vocalists from New Zealand and a backing vocalist from Australia joined, all thanks to internet correspondence. Now, seven of the eight members all live together in a terraced house in London which doubles as a live-in studio.

Prior to January 2017, the band mostly existed as a conceptual group based on a few demos. Now, they have a sold-out UK tour, a major label released debut album, a song in the FIFA 18 Soundtrack and a large and loyal fan base. The music itself is an eclectic supply of electronic pop interspersed with a smorgasbord of samples which range from the un-mistakeable loud bite of an apple in ‘Something For Your M.I.N.D’  to the subtle growls put behind laser bursts in ‘Sprorgnsm’. The music shouldn’t work. It should sound like a hectic mix-match of noises, but the melodies are so pronounced that they drive the entire song forward with a direction set from the start, even if along the way the song picks up a droning spoken word vocal, multiple splashing waves, and screams.

The songs aren’t afraid to take breaks either. In almost every song on the album there are fractions of a second where everything stops and you get a chance to breathe, before being immediately plunged back into the madness. Too many electronic bands forget to use silence as a weapon in their arsenal. Superorganism knows they’re crazy. They know listening to them with headphones is like inviting yourself into a football stadium full of noise all directed towards you. They give you that respite to cleanse your palette only to crack down on you once again.

As a whole, the album rarely disappoints. Opening with the loud choruses of ‘It’s All Good’ which, if you’re unprepared, can make you a bit tearful just through shock, and punching at the world with the apathetic lyrics of the aptly titled ‘Nobody Cares’:

“sweet relief when you grow up and see for yourself, nobody cares.”

The highlight of the album for sure has to be ‘Sprorgnsm’, which explains the ethos of togetherness and co-operation behind the whole project through an brilliant hook, and beats that can’t be matched anywhere else on the album. To have a debut album that is this complete and confident is impressive for a band that has only been together for a year.

Superorganism’s live show is very reflective of their music. Each member is brought out in different coloured raincoats to bring even more colour to a stage dominated by arcade-esque visuals and bright flashing lights. Orono does a great job of singing as nonchalantly as her vocals indicate on the album, but is full of energy when interacting with the crowd. At one point she grabs a phone off someone in the front row and runs around filming the band performing. The whole stage show just reeks of a band having a brilliant time at the birth of their career. If you want to feel that energy, jump on board now, and give them a listen.