Empire Of The Sun: 'Walking On A Dream'

The cover art for Empire Of The Sun's debut album looks like a cross between promotional posters for Stars Wars: The Musical and a new Siegfried & Roy stage show. Featuring tigers, elephants, glowing red orbs, a futuristic cityscape and a frontman with ice-white hair and a royal-blue gown, it's a hell of a lot more interesting than your average Kooks sleeve. Then again, Empire Of The Sun are no ordinary band. The Aussie duo call themselves "superheroes", describe this disc as a "spiritual road movie" and are promising live shows featuring inflatables and live animals. It all sounds like smashing fun, but should we actually be taking their larking around seriously?

Actually, consisting of the notoriously pretentious Sleepy Jackson frontman Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore from electro-poppers Pnau, EOTS are a much less jokey proposition than they seem. Don't let the costumes and wacky videos fool you, their debut album is a million miles from the comedy rock of Justin Hawkins or tiresome "irony" of Goldie Lookin' Chain. Walking On A Dream blends Flaming Lips psychedelia with MGMT-style mysticism and chucks in nods to Fleetwood Mac, Prince and Daft Punk for good measure. It's eccentric Technicolor pop that's bubbling over with synthesizers and ambition.

Occasionally the duo's attempts to dabble in multitudinous musical waters comes off a little too calculating - prime examples being the chill-out ripples of 'Country' and Mercury Rev cast-off 'The World'. However, more often that not EOTS are right on the button. The 'When Doves Cry'-style funk of 'Swordfish Hotkiss Night' and the drum machine and falsetto combo of 'Without You' - a song which sounds like it should be soundtracking a dreadful '80s chick flick - are delivered without a glimmer of irony or the twitch of an arched eyebrow.

However, Walking On A Dream is probably at its best when it stops being a nostalgic romp and starts looking to the future. The joyous rush of the title track ("Always pushing up the hill, for the thrill of it"), the space-pop thrills of 'Half Mast' and the call to arms that is 'We Are The People' are the standout tracks here. The album's second half features a definite drop-off in tunes, but the duo's intentions are never less than laudable. In an age when indie acts are treated as being "a bit out there" for adding a few synths to their two guitars, bass and drums template, EOTS are aiming a lot higher than a slot on the Absolute Radio playlist.