Over recent years, the internet has become a powerful tool for bands to self promote and reach new audiences all over the globe. More importantly it appeals to a DIY ideology, avoiding the interfering fingers of major labels, and allowing artists complete control over their work. Being unsigned no longer means remaining unheard. That said it wasn’t until Clap Your Hands Say Yeah surfaced that the potential of the mighty internet was wielded. They made it their bitch, and it resulted in two internationally self released albums without a label in sight, propelled along the way by indie whispers, blogs, and downloads.

With the all encompassing magnetism of Myspace there is unrivalled opportunity for bands to communicate with artists and fans alike, and for listeners to seek out a plethora of new and exciting music. Find a band you have already enjoyed and listen to their friends, it’s that simple. Takka Takka are one such band.

The foursome from Brooklyn and Queens had been bubbling away rather inconspicuously since 2005, but late last year they appeared on an American tour, nestled behind their friends Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Australian outfit Architecture in Helsinki. The beginning of 2007 saw them headline dates in London and they are about to finish up in America as this is written. With the internet being their favoured method of attack they hit the ground running, offering unreleased material, acoustic and radio performances and an EP released on Valentines Day of this year, all available online.

From the opener, ‘We Feel Safer At Night’, Takka Takka deliver their folk-tinged indie pop that draws comparisons with The Velvet Underground, late Pavement and alt-rockers The Feelies. Organs hum over the top of a blend of shuffling drums, warm acoustic guitars, and a simple descending bassline. Singer/keyboardist Gabe Levine’s sung/spoken lyrics sound like a less strung out Lou Reed; warm in delivery, relaxed in tone. The majority of the album follows suit, both gentle and subtle with its arrangements, the songs gradually building momentum.

The band explores a wide array of sounds on the album, offering twists and turns and adding new dimensions to the tracks. Hand claps and a whistled solo accompany ‘Coco On The Corner’, sonic bubbles flutter through the balladry of ‘Joshua And The Professor’ giving it an ethereal quality, and the instrumental ‘The Native Astronaut Grows Restless’ reveals ghostly whale calls over a soothing piano and guitar loop. It never sounds too complicated, the transition from one idea to the next sounding smooth and organic, avoiding cluttering thanks to the core instruments remaining consistent through the album. The acoustic guitars and drums assume the role of a backing track, allowing deliciously alternative touches room to flurry.

It’s towards the end of the album that the band really begins to show their ability. ‘They Build You Up Too Fast’ is delivered with simplicity, only an acoustic guitar, hand claps and vocals supporting an addictive groove; creating the song’s moodier tone. ‘She Works In Banking’ has the most gorgeous ‘80’s synth riff sprawl, as Levine spits an upper middle-class warning that to swim comfortably with the sharks you have to be one yourself.

His social commentary appears constantly throughout We Feel Safer at Night, but it never becomes overbearing or preachy. The confusion of modern life and the speed at which we live is pondered at most opportunities. There is a distinct anti-war message, most felt on the Dylan-esq harmonica wail of ‘Living Out Of Trouble’ where Levine highlights the frustrations of lying governments. During the ska beat and honky tonk piano jangle of ‘Enough’ he sings: “The protest kids have been protesting/But they forget the movement has been dead for years”, as he struggles with the apathy modern living can incur.

Overall, Takka Takka have produced a safe, inoffensive album, cautious in both lyrical and musical content. Although it doesn’t necessarily make for a bad listen, it never reaches its full potential. Not until the last four songs on the album do they reveal the depth their music can harbour, especially when compared with the softness of the opening tracks. Similarly Levine’s lyrics rarely delve deep enough, floating irrelevantly around the surface of his opinions, lacking any conviction. If you are going to stick your neck out and make social commentaries, you’ve got to make damn sure you mean it, or at the least sound like you do.

Perhaps having friends in the right places has caused Takka Takka to be a couple of steps ahead of themselves, reaching fruition too early to satisfy hungry bloggers rather than listener’s ears. More time playing locally before they reached the international stage would have meant that their music and lyrics would have become more solid in direction and intent.

Takka Takka have proven that you do need the songs as well as the high speed internet connection to be in an already successful bands top eight friends, but only just.