Between wrecked disco balls and discarded kazoos hides My Pretend Orchestra, boldly playing pop songs through an inventory of pocket grooves and assorted mix tapes. The boundaries are an elastic band that stretches from pillar to post, the bleak playground of their music a madcap ride where melody is a mere by-product of their coordinated follies.
The ethos was played out in a bedroom where, alongside a microphone and muted television, They made the first radio friendly escapades on record with a loop-pedalled brightness and a salute to Lou Reed. This resulted in such a sharp display of musicianship and understanding for lyrics and harmony there curtly followed an electric storm where, in proper 80’s movie style, the pretend orchestra came to life.
The songs have become the most exhilarating underground melodies since Damon Albarn reached down and touched planet Earth with ‘Leisure’. The enveloping amusement and feathered resilience of the tracks will no doubt find the doorways of dancehalls filling before too long, the actions of real musicians extending an arm to the many with modern urban poetry that could settle into your life becoming the most important ruins of an MTV generation philosophy.
Reviews!
"Laid back Teesside pop genius Danny Bloomfield has fleshed out his bedroom DIY recordings with the addition of a taught, shiny new band that lend little gems like "The Homeless Philharmonic" and the delightfully-titled "Lou Reed Love Song a thrilling new lustre. And they're the skinniest, best dressed band we've had for years, and keyboard player Emlyn occasionally drops in a bit of performance poetry about Quavers" - The Link
"Thought you were brilliant!" - Batman
