Bent--Intercept!

Heavy-hitters Bent are back with their latest release, Intercept! Coming from Nottingham, England, Bent is Simon Mills and Neil Tolliday who have been pumping out electronica and ambient pop since the late ‘90s. The creation of Bent was in response to Mills and Tolliday’s disgust at the trashy house music being released. After three releases and 200,000 record sales, Bent have become respected names in the dance scene, and Intercept! rampages into the pop scene. Songs like "To Be Loved" and "The Handbrake" are so familiar, and get me questioning just where I’ve heard them before. Many people may be asking that after "Handbrake" is featured in Coca-Cola’s new ad line-up. Most of Bent’s tracks include pop vocals, lacing a very dance-centered instrumental foundation. "To Be Loved" in particular features vocals from Simon Lord, Mills’ former frontman. "Stay Out All Night" represents the entire album as it almost transcends its dance label, featuring pop influences and very mainstream vocals, making it perfect for the dance floor and the radio. "If you had seven days to live / What would you do?" asks the intro to "Exercise 7," a disco-themed tune that all-but screams the answer to the question: dance! Heavily pulsing and the purest house track on the album, "Exercise 7" is one of the dance-able songs. The instrumental track "Breakfast at 80,000 Ft." follows that trend, providing ambient rhythms for a quieter moment on the dance floor. Intercept! is a healthy blend of dance and pop. The clear and mainstream vocals make Bent’s work very accessible, but the brilliant beats and rhythms assure that their work will still be blasted out at clubs. Their finest work to date, Intercept! carries on Bent’s commercial success and will surely become a part of pop-culture.

(Published at 365MAG.com)