The Beat Surrender

Lightbulbs is the third album from Brighton four-piece Fujiya & Miyagi and despite the oriental sounding name they are very definitely English lads, although for my money they do have a certain New York cool about their music.

I say that because if you listen to any of the tracks on this album, but choosing Knickerbocker as an example, the bass-guitar has that Strokes / Interpol class running through it that just grabs you straight away. The more you listen though and particularly on songs like Uh and the title track it’s the vocals from David Best that are the focal point of each song, even if lyrically they are suitably obtuse sometimes.

As an album it flows along brilliantly and you are disappointed when it ends, inevitably seeing you reach for the play button again, time for me to check out the other two albums methinks.