Music can be discovered in many different ways, there is so much on offer it can be hard to keep track of everything. Whether you spend hours trawling music websites like this, finding out about the hottest new bands from friends or whether you just rely on Radio 1's force feeding, there is plenty to go around. However, sometimes even with all the available resources a band can just slide right past you like a greased up fat kid on a water slide. If they are truly good enough though, generally they will fall into your lap at some point. By some strange turn of events this weeks Band of the Week were the greased up fat kid, but somehow luck prevailed and like a keen fisherman i now firmly hold in my musical keep net The Last Dinosaur. The discovery of this band came about when calling one of my friends to congratulate him on his latest steps towards world domination, the call went a little something like this –

Ring, Ring.

Hello..

Hi mate you ok?

Yeah I cant talk right now..

Why, where are you?

I’m at a gig, they’re called The Last Dinosaur, I’ll give you a ring when it’s finished. Bye.

Ever the inquisitive bastard, within seconds of putting down the phone I had pressed enter to search for The Last Dinosaur on Spotify and there it was, the album that was about to take over my life for the next 72 hours. I must have listened to their album ‘Hooray! For Happiness’ about 20 times in a row, and kicked myself every single time as I wondered how the hell a piece of music so beautiful had passed me by for a whole year.

The Last Dinosaur consists of Jamie Cameron and Luke Hayden with appearances from Rachel Lanskey on viola, they play in a style not specific to any particular genre but it’s a wonderful mix of acoustic, post rock and neo classical warmth. The whole album was recorded without the use of a single computer processor on a multi-track recorder, over many late nights when their imaginations were able to run away into the wild outer reaches of musical experimentation. ‘Hooray! For Happiness’ is a journey through abrasive granular noise into melancholic piano lines backed up by intoxicating viola, onward into sax riddled indie compositions and out the other side with the mellowest of chamber-pop'esque dulcet singing voices. It is never pretentious, never boring and fully displays their unique songwriting ability and musical prowess.

They are currently in the process of recording a second album which is set to be released in the final quarter of 2011. So until we are graced with another masterpiece from these much underrated Essex based musicians I suggest you check out their existing work. You will not be disappointed.