Hometown: Portland, Oregon.
The lineup: Ben, Jerm, Anthony, Brian.
The background: Here's another band being chased hither and yon by thin young boys and girls wielding fat wads of cash in a bid to get them to sign to their label. It's not surprising. Talk about ticking various demographic boxes and appealing to distinctive niche markets. This Portland four-piece, who describe themselves as "new wave/soul" on their MySpace and have been bigged-up of late by Dave (Gang of Four) Allen on his Pampelmoose website, are wordy yet funky, the gritty vocals and chunky beats equally clear and upfront in the mix. Hockey could easily be enjoyed by Dylan, Springsteen and Hold Steady fans as much as they could by devotees of LCD Soundsystem and their ilk. In fact, if James Murphy ever decides to produce the Strokes then this is roughly how it might turn out. It's been treated by the same sort of FX used to make Julian Casablancas sound as though he's singing through a megaphone in a wind tunnel. Witty, literate songs you can dance to – they don't quite give Dylanesque narratives a dubstep undercarriage, but they do effect a collision of opposites that is quite unprecedented.
It could have been so different: Hockey were an LA duo who gigged a lot, signed a development deal with Columbia, and recorded with Talking Heads keyboardist Jerry Harrison before changing location and doubling in size. Now that the scruffy bike-riding vegans have an album called Mind Chaos ready for release and are already eliciting rave reviews in the States, the excitement is about to reach here. The album will make you wonder why nobody has made these connections before. Too Fake presents Hockey's funky verbosity in all its glory, all hi-hat and harangues, forming an arresting statement of intent that sees the frontman declare in no uncertain terms, "I've got too much soul for you and it's breaking my heart in two!", 3am Spanish is a tumble of narcotic imagery and nagging hooks, like Mink De Ville had they spent longer at Studio 54 than CBGBs. Curse This City isn't miles removed from Primal Scream when they do funky while Work, possibly the best track, recalls the Stones when they went disco circa Miss You, and Preacher, like much of Mind Chaos, is maddeningly infectious. Song Away, one of many potential singles on the album, is almost too memorable – you can imagine radio going mad for this song about songs, with its references to "Roxy Music" and "80s grooves", and driving you mad next summer. The buzz: "Totally original! Real dance songs, with literary conceits, too."
The truth: We were right about Black Kids, Fleet Foxes and MGMT, we're waiting to see whether we got Boy Crisis right, meanwhile here's the next mast we're nailing our colours to.
Most likely to: Elicit hockey-related puns – "They Should Be So Pucky", that type of thing.
Least likely to: Puck off and die.
What to buy: You can't buy anything yet because Hockey are currently deal-less, but look and listen out for the superb debut album, Mind Chaos.
File next to: Hold Steady, LCD Soundsystem, the Strokes, Boy Crisis.
Links: www.myspace.com/hockey
Tomorrow's new band: Marina and the Diamonds.
