Visiting Japan, people have told me, is the closest you can get to visiting another planet. For a country that has freely and enthusiastically absorbed foreign culture, this is some achievement. But this osmotic clutch at foreign culture has somehow balanced with native behaviour, and unsurprisingly the hybrid is wildly inventive.

With this in mind, then, what is it that Mont Blanc have absorbed, and would you want to suckle on the same teat? As far as 80’s Europop/Swoon-House/Lo-Fi/Gabba conflations go, Mont Blanc’s is definitely the best yet.

Mont Blanc – Wake Up by ITCManchester

Shoving conventional wisdom to one side, and then abashedly welcoming it back into the fold, songs like Wake Up will catch even the most cynical listener off-guard. Always straying just over the line of expectation, the song typifies Mont Blanc‘s determination to jilt normality.

I can only imagine what benefits are gained by having identical twins as the central component of the band. I can also confidently say that their presence can’t help but ensure that Mont Blanc never sound, well, normal. Strange, keen and refreshing.

myspace.com/montblancband // Mont Blanc are appearing at In The City on Weds 13th October // More Info

NB: ANBAD was blighted with horrendous technical problems yesterday, hence the new-band absence. Apologies…