Satellites – Satellites.01

Satellites.01 originally touched down in early 2011, in a limited run that was evidently too niche for such an ambitious-sounding record. Though imperfect, these smartly-presented transmissions certainly merit wider exposure, with the album’s finest moments raising the nape hairs and triggering goosebumps.

Satellites is the nom-de-plume of Johnny Vic, whose baritone vocals signal The National as a key influence, with his delivery in Where Love Lies Bleeding particularly Matt Berninger-ish. But Vic doesn’t always balance rousing grandeur and reigned-tight emotion with the same poise as the aforementioned Ohioans; the build-and-release surge of Mindreading, for instance, steers close to Snow Patrol at their most efficiently stadium-hungry.

Yet by the time Sale of the Century rolls around, faith is restored, its symphonic splendour reaching for the stars without pandering. Satellites.02 will follow in March; if it shows a little more willingness to eschew tried-and-tested sounds, Vic could be onto something very special indeed.