We’ve Listened To ‘Razzmatazz’ I Dont Know How By They Found Me, And This Is What It Sounds Like

It’s one of the year’s most anticipated debut albums and we’re letting you know what to expect. 

On Friday (October 23) I Don’t Know How But They Found Me will release their long-awaited debut album ‘Razzmatazz’ via Fearless Records. But we’ve been lucky enough to hear it in full already. You really are in for a treat. 

So until you get the opportunity to dive in, we felt it was our obligation to let you know what to expect from this fantastical record. Here we go…

01. LEAVE ME ALONE
You should already have heard this one. Shimmering synths and a total foot-tapper of a bassline clash as Dallon states, “I want you to leave me alone”, and you know he means it. Then handclaps and plenty of whizzes and bangs build this banger up to boiling point as it beckons you closer and closer to the dancefloor. It’s a hell of a statement of intent to kick off your debut album with and one that pulls together everything that makes iDKHOW the boundless and wonderful band that they are.


02. MAD IQS
From the soft patter of electronic drums at the very beginning to the dramatic wave of dread-filled synth that appears at the tail end of the chorus, ‘Mad IQs’ is the sort of song that catches you off guard at every turn. Throw in a few layers of soulful wailing, funk-driven guitar licks and Dallon declaring that, “You can’t get into heaven if you haven’t got a soul”, it’s a multifaceted display of songwriting brilliance that owes as much to technological advances as it does human intuition.

3. NOBODY LIKES THE OPENING BAND
We all know this one VERY well don’t we? A tinkering of the ivories raises the curtain before giving way to a shake of sleigh bells from Ryan as the band deliver their ode to turning up to shows early and showing your love to the first band on. First released over two years ago, the track not only serves as a suitable marker for how far the band has travelled sonically but also in terms of their success. Truly wonderful stuff.


04. NEW INVENTION
You’ll have recently heard this one too. After the brief piano break that we just enjoyed, ‘New Invention’ cranks up the synths and gets those hips moving once more. Paying homage to Kraftwerk’s innovation as much as Gary Numan’s knack for an addictive hook while still sounding thoroughly modern, it’s a perfect combination of past and present that’s more than happy to lodge itself in your frontal lobe for the foreseeable.


05. FROM THE GALLOWS
Now we have a love song, but the sort that only iDKHOW could forge. You can practically her the vinyl crackling as lounge-style piano and silky drums coat the dark and devilishly romantic admissions escaping from Dallon’s lips. We even have a robotic voice delivering a moment of poetry and a trumpet solo thrown in for good measure. It’s sultry, smoky and sinister all at the same time, and that’s the way that we like it.

06. CLUSTERHUG
First demoed as a Brobecks song, this shimmering masterpiece has now being given a new lease of life slap bang in the middle of ‘Razzmatazz’. With driving bass, glitter-stained piano and the sort of chorus that deserves to be blasted out of every single radio in the world, it’s a beautiful, building opus that will have the hairs standing on the back of your neck throughout. As the final crescendo hits, everything in the world just feels right, even just for a moment.

07. SUGAR PILLS
More Kraftwerk-like creativity holds this sassy little number together with some falsetto lyrical refrains and thunderous bass chucked in for good measure. Though it’s the sort of fun-filled song that has a much deeper message at the core of it, as Dallon demands you to “Give me something more for my wild imagination”. You may spend a large portion of this album dancing, but there’s still plenty hiding in the cracks for you to uncover.

09. KISS GOODNIGHT
Slowing things down once more with minimalistic flourishes of electronics and neon-stained admissions of admiration, this track is a pretty little number for those late night moments with the one you love. Like rain pattering on your windowpane, there’s a particular sweetness and vulnerability to this track that sticks with you long after the last string has been plucked and key hammered.

08. LIGHTS GO DOWN
You’ve heard this one as well, hopefully. The funk is back in abundance, as is Dallon’s wonderful knack for dark lyricism as he smirks “Not every hollow is as sleepy as this one, but heads roll just the same”. That doesn’t stop the chorus from being any less sugary sweet or the saxophone solo hitting any harder. It’s another example of brilliantly delicate and considered songwriting that only a band as in tune as iDKHOW could create.


09. NEED YOU HERE
An ode to being away from home for a long time, ‘Need You Here’ incorporates family into the band’s music in the most beautiful of ways. Featuring both an adorable spoken word part from when she was little and a gorgeous vocal appearance from right now, Dallon duets with his daughter as jazzy pianos and fizzing synths circle around their heads. It’s a really special song on an album full of special songs and one that’s guaranteed to trigger the tear ducts at least once.

10. DOOR
Short and perfectly sentimental, ‘Door’ acts as a palette cleanser before the final crescendo that is the title track. It’s a blink-and-miss-it moment of honesty delivered with quivering heart by Dallon where it feels like he is crooning to you and you alone.

11. RAZZMATAZZ
You’ve heard this one, or at least we hope so. Quirky, head spinning and utterly compelling, everything that ‘Razzmatazz’ represents is summed up perfectly in its title track. “Let’s go paint the town, on our way home” Dallon declares as Ryan slowly builds up the rhythm before an all-conquering saxophone solo brings it home in the most over-the-top and vital way imaginable. And just like that, it’s done. I Don’t Know How But They Found Me’s ambitious, bizarre, life-affirming debut album, ready and waiting for you to fall back into whenever you want to, forever and always. Well done, lads, we’re proud of you. 

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