MattMontagano has been heavily involved in music from the tender age of 15... Based in London he works in TV, blogs, writes and is a musician. He's also the head honcho of 'We Are Not A Rock Band', a music blog that supplies it readers with free downloads. Tags: Beth Ditto, Cruel Intentions, Simian Mobile Disco, SMD
Everyone knows Simian Mobile Disco – whether it’s for anthems such as ‘The Hustler’ or ‘It’s The Beat’, or whether it’s for their dynamic and explosive DJ sets. But here, Ford and Shaw present their lesser-known softer sides to us all with a disco twinged, 90s sounding track. It’s a continuation of the mellower direction that they are heading in, following on from songs such as ‘Synthesize’. Muffled, fuzzy kick drums and echo-y synth stabs underpin Beth Ditto’s surprisingly non-irritating vocals. It sounds like SMD have managed to tame her, making her vocals less like Beth Ditto and more like a soulful singer (you can decide whether that’s a good or a bad thing). Simian Mobile Disco have avoided making an obvious, generic dance track here; instead, they have made an electronic ‘song’. Yet whilst it’s a good song – a classic it certainly is not. And the problem is, songs like this need to be classics to get noticed by the fans. Otherwise the chances are they’ll go largely un-noticed…
Umek – or Umek The Exorciser as he used to be called – is Techno royalty. He’s been producing proper, no-nonsense bangers for years. This ‘mix tape’ that he’s compiled for Hell Yeah Records sounds like something taken straight out of a dirty, squatty, illegal warehouse rave somewhere in Hackney and comes jam-packed with cheeky surprises such as unexpected builds, hi-hats, snares, drops and bass lines – whipping you into a frenzy with the greatest of ease. This is certainly one for the techno enthusiasts out there. The only downside of this mix is that by comparison, the end section doesn’t live up to the beginning but that shouldn’t stop you from checking it out. All hail King Umek The Exorciser.
Turning the mind is a painfully cheesy journey into ethereal singer/songwriter electronica. Oliver Huntemann co-produces and mixes parts of the album so it benefits somewhat from his production skills. He features on what is arguably the tune of the album – ‘Let Go Of The Fear’. This is a slightly more up-tempo electro tune, one to bob your head to – until, after singing “let go of the fear” Maps goes and spoils it by talking over the verses. That’s right – he talks. But not in a cool way; in a ‘we’re Pet Shop Boys and we’re so electro’ kinda of way. This album does have some nice moments and in parts it gets a bit dark and techno-y, but in other parts it sounds like something that Take That would come out with if they were to hijack some synths and drum pads. And what’s with the constant reference to drugs like Crystal Meth, Valium and Cocaine? Seriously – bragging about it ain’t cool. It’s an effort just to listen to this all the way through – in fact – I challenge you to try listening to it in its entirety without flicking through any of the tune’s. You can’t. Avoid.
Buzz band of the moment, Fenech-Soler undeniably seemed destined for great things. They have created/captured a sound that is becoming ever present within the world of popular music, one that picks up where nu-rave left off. Electro-pop/synth-pop/techno pop – whatever you want to call it (watch this space – I’m sure the genre will be given an atrocious name very soon) – is everywhere at the moment and these guys have got it on lock down. Not bad for a few lads who are still in their teens and hail from a part of England where you would expect to find a wealth of chavs, not a wealth of musical talent. Their second release ‘Lies’ is a catchy little number that has the perfect mix of indie and electro to make it a very current pop hit. The verses are vocal lead and backed up by old school funky house-style filtered synths, which bursts into a chorus of electro synth leads, rasping bass and 4×4 beats which are both catchy and anthemic. This is a big song from a band whose popularity seems set to explode in 2010. If Fenech-Soler don’t get big – I’ll eat my hat.
This action packed garage/punk E.P. should come with a health warning. The first thing you notice when listening to this is that it explodes with relentless, ferocious energy from the first riff to the final crash. It’s wrought with fuzzy guitars and fuzzy bass that collides head first into crashing cymbals and drums – certainly not one for the weak hearted. Many comparisons can be drawn from their songs too – ‘On My Way’ is reminiscent of The Stooges classic ‘Search and Destroy’; ‘Say’ has the feel of The Subway’s – ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Queen’, but with more distortion and energy that those guys could ever even dream of. The vocals state – “This time I’m saying something” They certainly are – this is a statement of intent from a band that know how to thrash. Ever watched Back To The Future? Of course you have. Remember the bit where Marty McFly played his electric guitar in front of that huge speaker and got blasted across the room? Little did we know but he’d actually gone forward in time and was playing a Federals tune. If you like your music fuzzy, these guys are well worth a check.
Joakim and his band (imaginatively named ‘The Disco’) have made an album that resembles a journey through retro futuristic nu-disco. Each track offers something different in the way of electronica, but all have a signature Joakim ‘cleverness’ behind them; Melodic synths breath a cosmic air into it, fuzzy electric guitars provide the rawness, battered broken-beat drums add a Ninja Tune-esque flavour, cheeky bass lines muddled with bleepy synths add the quirk-factor and robotic vocals finish it off making it feel like it truly is from another planet. And let’s face it – this guy is from another planet. A ‘vintage’ Joakim moment comes in the form of ‘Love & Romance & A Special Person’, which is an interesting dating chat room conversation between two Stephen Hawkins style computer voices. Over the backdrop of a bumpy house track the conversation unfolds; “I am very much interested in you, I’m fond of new people… I am sure that with you I will feel beloved and desired”. It’s an interesting idea, one that really works. The problem is that after listening to it you’re left feeling like it had completely missed the mark. Essentially, it’s just a bunch of instantly forgettable nu-disco tunes. I guess he is just human after all.
It would be hard not to agree with you if you were to say that Hamburg based Fukkk Offf’s debut album is electro by numbers, but then it doesn’t pretend to be anything else, so who cares? It’s clear that he has an – ‘if it’s not broken, don’t fix it’ attitude towards all of his tunes: filtered bass, chordy synths, stomping kick drums and tinny hi-hats are prevalent throughout this tightly produced piece of work. Tracks range from big room peak time anthems like ‘Rave Is King’ to skuzzy after-party wrongun’s such as ‘Black Phantom’, heck – he’s even thrown in a disco track for the more discerning partygoers out there! DJ friendly, long beat intros have been given the boot – instead the tunes start with the hook, which filter in and drop almost straight away leaving no part of this album boring and monotonous. So picture this: you’re in a club – starry eyed, reaching for the lasers surrounded by 1000 best friends you’ve never met. This is the soundtrack to it. If you don’t like this, you don’t like electro house.
The press release describes this song brilliantly: a song dedicated “To anyone who ever ran away from a fight, then daydreamed an epic victory from the safety of their bed”. Hilarious. The song itself isn’t too bad either: in a nutshell it describes a coward who wishes he could grow a pair of balls. Carl Brown lead vocalist sings “where’s my punk spirit, when I need it?” Now, whilst the subject matter of the song is tongue in cheek, the lyrics signify issues that go much deeper than the comedy that they portray; a subject that could easily be reflected in many peoples day to day problems. Instead of moaning about our troubles, why don’t we just question where our punk spirit is? Punks don’t give a fuck – and most of the time neither should we. Musically this is a down tempo track with strummed guitars and rolling, army style snare drums. Combine this with the lyrics and ‘Punk Spirit’ becomes a rousing passive-aggressive anthem that holds the potential for a festival defining moment. Get your lighters ready – you’ll want to be thrusting them sky-high.
Musically, this is about as forward thinking as a Taliban cleric who is arranging the stoning of a woman who took her Berka off. ‘She’s A Genius’ kicks off with an age-old yet simple ‘rock’ formula: bass followed by guitar followed by drums. Throw in a token skinny/jaundiced sounding singer who can do some good Primal Scream-esque “oh oh-oh’s” (preferably with a heroine addiction) and we find ourselves immersed in a genre that got caned to death years ago. That does not mean to say that ‘She’s A Genius’ doesn’t rock – oh contraire – on listening to it you feel the urge to trust a devil sign in the air and shout “fuck yeah” in your broadest redneck accent. However, if you’re going to recreate a sound that’s been done to death – you HAVE to do it better. Just look at Airbourne and The Darkness, they’re carbon copies of 80’s rock but what made them stand out is that they produced absolute anthems. On this showing, Jet don’t earn the right to be put into that league. If proper rock ‘n’ roll is your thing: you might like this. If not, don’t waste your time with it – it’s nothing you haven’t heard before.
What is it with those Belgians? Do the authorities spike their water supply with something that makes the country produce tremendous musical talent? Just look at Soulwax and Aeroplane – two Belgian acts that are heads and shoulders above any of their counterparts in their chosen genres. And here we have potential for another huge act to surface from those Flemish speaking, praline eating, beer swilling Europeans. The Hickey Underworld are the real deal and this song provides ample evidence to support that theory. Mystery Bruise comes straight out of The Strokes’ book of song writing; a loud verse leads into an anthem-laced guitar-thrashed chorus that is complemented by a lead guitar strumming a simple yet effective riff over the top. The singer strains every sinew to screech out the lyrics and whilst doing so shows off hints of James Murphy on one of his more boisterous days. ‘Mystery Bruise’ has all the hallmarks of a popular indie anthem; it is an energy-packed wall of noise with a chorus that is fun, powerful and highly danceable. If this is anything to go by, then these fella’s could do big things.
