The Albums of 2012 (#4): Errors – Have Some Faith In Magic (Rock Action)

For their third album proper, post-electro trio Errors pulled off a trick par excellence by releasing their most accomplished, focused and downright enjoyable full-length record yet. Having side-stepped their previous penchant for jokey or irreverent titles, Have Some Faith In Magic [read Steev Livingstone's track-by-track guide to the LP here] immediately marked itself out as a bold statement for the group and the music contained within followed suit. Full of crystalline soundscapes, ethereal vocals and bounding, arpeggio electronics, it is indeed a work of some sorcery.

“It’s a bit more consistent compared with previous records,” begins Steev Livingstone more groundedly on the accomplished feel of their third album. “It’s mostly down to the fact that all the songs were written around the same period of time. I think we were also less scared of sounding pop. People like pop – it’s popular.”

Such a mindset is evident in the likes of single Pleasure Palaces, a notable dancefloor highlight, packed with ever-flourishing synth crescendos, bubbling electro underpinnings and, as a signpost of the band’s new slant, uplifting, yet indistinguishable vocals. “We had wanted to use vocals for a while but didn't really know how to,” says Steev. “Then from listening to a lot of music that used vocals in different and more interesting ways we realised it was possible to make use of them without them being the main focus of the music. It was our intention to use vocals as an instrument.”

It’s a disarmingly simple yet refreshing change of tack for the group and certainly one aspect which gives Faith In Magic a coherence that may have eluded previous albums. Yet more than this, it’s a record that is at once immediate in its pop melodies while holding back enough to warrant repeated plays of its ten faultless tracks. As a cause for celebration of a burgeoning band we’ve had our eye on for some time, it’s certainly an achievement worth breaking out the bubbly for.

Yet rather than rest on their laurels, Have Some Faith In Magic was closely followed by this year’s also-really-rather-ace New Relics EP [reviewed here]. “There was still a bit of momentum and we had some time to get new material recorded,” explains Steev of the quick turnover. It solidified quite a year for the trio who signed to Mogwai’s Rock Action label in 2005 after only a handful of shows. Clearly the signs were there from the outset.

Unsurprisingly, the band will be taking something of a break after this particularly prolific year. “I think we’re going to spend a bit of time on other projects before we start working on new Errors material,” Steev confirms. “With every record we like to change things about, so it’ll be good to have a bit of time to allow new ideas and ways of working to develop.” Have Some Faith In Magic will certainly be a difficult act to follow, but given its un-bounding inventiveness, we’re certain Errors still have a few tricks up their collective sleeve.