Where legals dare

Those of us who enjoy quality dance-punk have had precious little to complain about over the past four or five years. First there was the LCD Soundsystem/DFA axis in New York, and then we had a phalanx of fantastic UK acts like Hot Chip, Klaxons, Foals, Simian Mobile Disco and Friendly Fires. The class of ‘09 includes Passion Pit, Hockey and The Invisible, whose self-titled debut – which includes the truly exquisite ‘London Girl’ – rivals Merriweather Post Pavilion as my favourite album of the year.

The latest kids on the dance-rock block are Essex quartet Magistrates. Before I’d even heard a note, the band’s art-pop sensibility and impeccable reference points – Bowie, Talking Heads, Prince, A Tribe Called Quest – meant I was a fan purely on spec. Thankfully, the music met my high expectations, particularly the stunning ‘Heartbreak’. Still, given the stiff competition they’re up against, are Magistrates concerned that it might be difficult for them to make an impact?
“No matter what genre you are, it’s hard for any band to break through and get the masses to listen,” replies the band’s singer, Paul Usher. “But because it’s happened for years and years in pop music, I do believe that if it’s good enough, it will succeed. The other thing is that anyone can write a song, but pop songs are really hard to write. We’re doing something a little bit more interesting than simply putting together a decent tune. All the people that we’re influenced by are such strong personalities.
“With Talking Heads, David Byrne made you go, ‘He’s not real – he’s a superstar.’ And Bowie forming his own characters – those kind of things make people think, ‘This is something different than just a band recording a few tracks.’ I feel that people are bored of bands saying, ‘We’re just four ordinary guys.’ I’m not interested in ordinary guys – I’m interested in the Princes, Michael Jacksons and Madonnas of the world.
“At one of their shows, not only are you going to hear some great music, you’re going to be freaked out. I find that way more exciting. We want to entertain and put on the best show that people have seen all year.”
It remains to be seen if Magistrates will cross over to the mainstream, but one man they have already impressed is Damon Albarn. After hearing some of the band’s demos, the Blur and Gorillaz mastermind invited them to record part of their upcoming debut album, Gold Lover, in his studio. For good measure, Magistrates are supporting Blur on a couple of dates on their reunion tour.
“When we started the main sessions for the album last November, we went for lunch with Damon one day,” Paul recalls. “He told us he was getting Blur back together – this was before anything was announced – and said we should support them on a couple of the dates. He told us all this, and we were like, ‘Wow!’ We didn’t hear anything for a while, but they got confirmed recently. One of the shows we’re doing is Southend, which is where I live.
The venue is about half a mile from my house, so I can walk there, support Blur, and walk home again. There’s not many times that that’s going to happen!”

Magistrates play the Hot Press New Band Stage on Saturday July 11