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Man, those Irish people must be an adventurous lot.
Bell X1’s “Flock” (Yep Roc) has already gone five-times-platinum in Ireland, where the band is big enough to play castles, kind of like that other Irish import, U2. The album has spawned four Top 20 singles there and like the band’s previous incarnation Juniper, which included Damien Rice, Bell X1 is now being touted as the Next Big Thing.
That’s pretty amazing considering how noncommercial “Flock” sounds, with its shape-shifting collection of modern rock styles and quirky, unconventional lyrics delivered by singer Paul Noonan.
Bell X1 gets all Talking Heads-ish and chants, “I wanna be near you and blink in your light and toast marshmallows on a cold, dark night” in “Flame.” They channel Dave Matthews Band to talk about self-esteem issues on “Bad Skin Day.” They mix Flaming Lips and Coldplay for the first single “Rocky Took a Lover,” about a homeless man finding a soul mate. And they reissue “Eve, the Apple of My Eye” from their first album (and from an episode of “The OC”) and the lovely “Just Like Mr. Ben,” which sound much more like you’d expect Rice’s former mates to sound.
“Flock” is filled with surprising twists and turns that somehow still lead somewhere safe, making Bell X1 like that charming friend who takes you on an adventurous night of pub crawling yet still makes sure you get home safely. Who doesn’t like that guy?

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