NYPC continue the trend of modern music acts by funding, producing and releasing their latest studio EP themselves.

It follows suit with their musical style of trying not to sound too much like any other band they draw their influences from.

The Optimist mixes dance, indie, punk and pop in a manner which made Ladyhawke one of the most popular acts of 2009 and lifted Siouxsie And The Banshees to the forefront of female consciousness in the 1980s. Comparisons will unfortunately always be drawn.

This is easily the best release so far this year. It takes home the title of album of the first quarter with its punk-like riffs and funky-vibe beats that reverberate down your spinal chord forcing your body to throw shapes that usually only emerge after six or seven pints.

Each track is a masterful play on just about every genre since the 1970s and the result is a cake so sugary and delicious that the mixing bowl should never be cleaned and re-used repeatedly to create every single album henceforth.

There are of course remixes already circling the musical seas and while most are available freely for download you should consider purchasing the iTunes version of the album for the wonderfully guitar-based “South Wales Swamp Mix” of ‘Chaos’ brought to us by the Manic Street Preachers.

This writer is considering purchasing a pony and developing an Equidae-based dance routine in homage to such a fantastic release.

LEIGH SANDERS Rating: 5/5