Where in the past El Ten Eleven have drew comparisons to Sigur Ros and Tortoise, with their lazyboy-downer-nu hippie tunes that in actual fact got you high, this LA duo’s third release introduces itself with all the compassion of a Shock & Awe strike. Shock and Awe, technically known as Rapid Dominance, is a military doctrine based on the use of overwhelming power, and this is exactly what El Ten Eleven have executed with expertise on this album. The first track on These Promises Are Being Videotaped plays under the rather obscure title ’Jumping Frenchmen of Maine’. The only way I can describe this track is that it takes Soulwax’s chin-swinging ‘E Talking’ onto the dance floor, matches it move for move and eventually leaves it in a foaming dehydrated mess collapsed in the corner. Something which is pretty hard to imagine after recalling the first time you heard Soulwax’s ecstasy filled bass heavy gem, but this stuff will send your serotonin levels surging through the roof. Their take on Radiohead’s Paranoid Android is an interesting treat. It brings to mind Jimi Hendrix’s distorted and discordant take on America’s national anthem. Like all good covers, I feel they’ve taken this one ad really looked after it like its one of their own, a very unique take on a modern classic. What I like about El Ten Eleven is their organic use of real guitar, real bass and real drums. They’re not too overproduced and come off sounding like a real band rather than a compilation of lazy samples. Judging from videos on their myspace they look like a real blast to experience live; they’re loud when they wanna be, intimate, instrumentally experimental (hell they play guitars with drumsticks) and certainly know how to work an audience into a frenzy. Everything this album offers in fact. El Ten Eleven’s music up to now, renowned for being great driving music and for putting listeners in a good mood, has been more about light pitter-patter percussion, soothing rippling melodies with quite a withdrawn ambience but this album brings them to a whole new dimension. It still skips and whistles down the street (check out ’I Like Van Halen Because My Sister Says They Are Cool’) but has a nice punchy edge and drives a lot faster, honking its horn to attract attention and demanding that people get out of the way lest the fun stops rolling on. www.circlemagazine.co.uk

So amazing this album is! Great music, something fresh for ordinary days. The ideas keep on rolling and it all feels so good! Definitely worth a buy!