#SoundCheck: Theme Park Creates The Soundtrack to Summer 2012 With 'Jamaica'

There are a few key ingredients for the perfect summer song.
1) It needs to be danceable, but chill.
2) It shouldn't just make you want to be near the beach, it should actually make you feel like you're already there.
3) It needs a giant sing-along hook. Bonus points if it's actually about summer.
UK indie band Theme Park hits the trifecta on their new single 'Jamaica' from their forthcoming debut record. The band is led by twin brothers Miles and Marcus Houghton. (Because UK alternative bands led by sibling songwriting teams never ever end with drunken fistfights on airplanes. Nope. Never.) They have an easygoing charm reminiscent of 90s Britpop singer-songwriter David Gray by way of Brooklyn indie pop bands like Body Language.

The song has a big atmosphere. Synths and reverb drenched guitars slip in and out of focus like waves beneath the Houghton brothers warm harmonies. Clear descendents of Brian Eno (like a musical mitochondrial Eve, we all are somehow these days...), Theme Park puts a heavy focus on atmosphere and texture. They put nearly as much effort into making the song sound like a summer party as they do actually writing a song about summer parties. The track is the 2nd single off their debut album; following the synth-pop 'Two Hours' released in February. Details about the debut itself will hopefully come soon.

- Words by Nathan Leigh