Album: Warren Suicide

The Hello, FUME

Represented by the childish cartoon head with pointy teeth depicted on the cover, Warren Suicide is a Berlin electro-pop quartet of arty, theatrical bent - which is to say, they occasionally like to smear themselves in paint, adopting a similarly abstract approach in their music. The trick, of course, is to push sonic boundaries without abandoning pop appeal, to which end they generally employ a forceful but quirky stomp involving catchy, quacking synthesiser figures, as on the replacement-bodypart rumination "We're Adjusting Ourselves", the biblical parable of "Butcher Boy", and the single "Fulford", a bizarrely engaging combination of cheerleader chant, techno-rock crunch and berserker guitar break.

Behind the foreground beat, any manner of keening strings, intimate whispers and indeterminate noises create the tracks' individual patinas. "All in One", for instance, is a huffing, puffing montage of buzzes, wheezes and clanks, with an enervated voice mumbling about how "the best is yet to come", while "Twelve" is built on a two-discord guitar riff. There's also an agonised, tortuous cover of The Beatles' "Yer Blues", set to a rolling synth riff that casts a whole new shadow over the song.

DOWNLOAD THIS: 'Fulford', 'We're Adjusting Ourselves', 'All in One'