You know when you tell someone you really love foreign films, and you can see it in their eyes that they immediately think, “What a pretentious twat!” I’m going to assume this happens if you tell people you like bands that do not sing in English. You see, I love foreign films. It all started when I was in secondary school and my French teacher showed us Amelie. Like anyone with half a brain, I know it is a bloody brilliant film. I loved how it was shot. I’m such an arse when it comes to music or films- I don’t always pay attention to the outside of it. I usually pay attention to the production and such. I have no idea why, and I honestly hate it. I once took a notebook to a gig. The first gig I ever reviewed. But I realised very quickly that the best way to review it, was to be part of it. I usually write-up a gig review the day after so I can process everything that happened. I don’t have an amazing memory, but with gigs I do. I can remember dates, pointless facts and gigs. Obviously I know what is important in life.

Belgrado come from Barcelona. I’ve never been, so I won’t mention anything else about the place. Their music makes you feel like you are alive in the 80s when Siouxsie and Bauhaus were ruling the airwaves. Okay, so maybe they didn’t rule the airwaves so let’s pretend that they did and the 80s wasn’t made up of truly awful pop music. Much like it is now.  Belgrado are pretty new, and their debut LP came out around a year ago. It is basically one of the most underrated things to have happened yesterday. Better late than never, I suppose.

There are so many reasons as to why I love them. They have this brutal force in their music, and the vocals are so haunting. If The Cure are looking for a band to collaborate with, I’d recommend Robert Smiths gives these guys a listen. The haunting guitars would just cause a riot. In my head, this will one day happen. I’d love it too. Every song by Belgrado makes me feel like A Forest by The Cure does. This is what I look for in a band, in a song. If I don’t feel like that, I probably won’t give it all my attention. I’d say I’m like this with people but people are disappointing for the most part aren’t they? A song is easier to give yourself up to. A band is easier for you to trust and give every part of yourself too. Maybe it should be this way, maybe it shouldn’t. There is really no right or wrong in this. As ever, it is all a matter of personal choice.

To even try to compare Belgrado to anyone else is pretty silly. Sure they have a huge 80s gothic sound going on, and they will make fans of the typical bands happy. But they have something different going on. I’m not sure what it is. Maybe it is because they play with such a raw force, maybe it is because of the female vocals that make the songs a touch more gentle. There are so many reasons as to why I love Belgrado, but the main one is that they blow whatever is left of my mind.