AU - Verbs - Released on the 3rd November

American bands seem to be behind some of the most interesting and experimental music at the moment. At the forefront of this American influx is Animal Collective whose unique style makes them stand head and shoulders above their contemporaries. How, do other American acts follow this level of quantity without being type casted or coined as a copy cat?

HSAH thinks it cant be easy to make your mark in this ever evolving music world and for a band to stand out they must be truly special or just plain mad. Which is AU? Possibly the good kind of mad. Hailing from Portland Oregon, AU, mark themselves out with their debut offering Verbs that's out on Aagoo Record later this year. Coined as an 'experimental pop collective' Verbs is a collection of ethereal tracks that, at times, sound like interesting choral music or sleep inducing lullabies. A prime example of this is the aptly named Sleep, the last track on Verbs.

What Verbs doesn't lack is layers. With over thirty contributors to Verbs its amazing the depth that is on this album. With additional vocal and musicians the tracks on verbs are given an extra dimension like on All My Friends, which is this explosion of sounds. Like their peers, Grizzly Bear, Animal Collective, Beirut, AU masterfully veer on the side of madness and throughout Verbs you are left thinking what, why and how did they come to this music. This playfulness allows AU to be as 'out there' as they like but they manage to retain a commercial feel to their music.

Hand Shakes and Holidays thinks you should listen to this album. 8/10.