..equal measure Bow Bow Wow, the Magic Band and a children’s orchestra high on cola bottles.
Death Sentence: Panda! –Insects Awaken
http://www.upsettherhythm.co.uk/ http://www.konkurrent.nl/
Sometimes a man needs irrational screaming noise as his meat. Despite this LP boasting such gentle instruments as flute, gong, glockenspiel, piano and clarinet, the overriding impression is a band making a hell of a din. And a righteous din it is too, opener New China Blazers and tracks like Exit Villager are fantastic amalgams of atonal squeals, tribal drums and shouting: equal measure Bow Bow Wow, the Magic Band and a children’s orchestra high on cola bottles. All tracks are about a minute long and pack a hell of a lot in. Check out Reform for an example of strident, high octane, stop-start music bar packed full of goodness.
There are moments that are less strident however, and ring a lot of bells; No Enemies is a great dreamy lament very reminiscent of the Slits, Island of Sexual Violence is at times like Organisation’s Tonefloat LP and the sloth-fest of zzzzzzzzzzz could be off side two of Neu! 2. But this LP certainly inhabits a world of its own, and the flute bits are the best on a rock record since Florian wielded his in anger, on Kraftwerk 1.
Good stuff, not for the faint-hearted.
Words: Richard Foster