THE FRONT ROW

Yorkshire band Apollo Junction are big football fans (well they support Leeds United anyway). I know this from seeing their delight on social media when their music has been used on football related TV shows such as The Disney Channel’s ‘Welcome To Wrexham‘. The lyrics of their latest single Mil1ion sound like they could be taken from an impassioned half-time team talk from Leeds’s recent charismatic Argentinian coach Marcelo Bielsa:

‘Hey you’re running out of time, Put it on the line, You’re one in a million’,

‘You are Unstoppable, You are phenomenal, You are unbreakable’.

In fact the song has nothing to do with football. In their press release the band say ‘The song is every word of advice that you could give to someone you care about and means the world to you – and is the advice you should also give yourself when the world doesn’t quite seem on your side’. With it’s spoken-word, confidential, advisory tone Mil1ion bears some resemblance to the recent single from The Lottery Winners – Letter To Myself.

The songs brief guitar-riff intro gives no clue as to where the tune is heading. The chirpy keyboards, poppy bassline, swirling guitar undercurrents, and upbeat rhythms however leave you in no doubt. There’s a feeling of positivity. There may be some advice coming, but it’s from a friend, and it’s coming from a good place. To highlight the air of intimacy, and to emphasise the conversational nature of the song Jamie Williamson speaks the opening lines.

Apollo Junction’s early material displayed obvious traces of their influences, you could hear echoes of New Order basslines or The Cure keyboard riffs. With Mil1ion Apollo Junction’s line of travel appears to be toward the poppier end of the indie-rock landscape. If you’re looking for a map reference then head to an area adjacent to Hard-Fi‘s Stars of CCTV. Mil1ion is an optimistic, up-beat, inclusive tune. As always with an Apollo Junction single there is a catchy sing-a-long chorus for a live audience to join in with.

There is an engaging bridge section where Williamson’s vocals are double tracked and autotuned, and are undercut by all manner of percussive, electronic noises – these embellishments only serve to labour the main point of the song – ‘You’ve got to live your life, you’re one in a million’.

The band are currently knee deep in festival season and will be embarking on their own UK tour in the autumn. Try and catch them if you can as their live shows are developing something of a reputation. So far Apollo Junction have played to a coachload of fans in the UK’s highest venue, performed in a haunted house, and dispelled an old adage by managing to organise a piss-up (and a gig) in a brewery. Get off your up-turned bucket and get involved.

Mil1ion is available in digital format from 20th September and Apollo Junction’s next album Here We Are is due for release in October.

Ian Dunphy.