((URY)) Dance #2

Pembroke / Lock In The Lion – Airhead & James Blake (BRAiNMATH, 2010)

James Blake aims to show a different side of his musical personality with this, his third release and first on BRAiNMATH. Coming after the massively acclaimed ‘Air & Lack Thereof’ and his remix of Untold’s ‘Stop What You’re Doing’, Pembroke goes a long way to show why Blake is so hotly tipped. Airhead’s influence on the two tracks featured on the release is, aptly, to add a lot more space to the already laid-back and off-kilter beats found on Blake’s previous work. Both tracks come off more as sonic explorations, pushing the ability of a track to carry melody to its limit. It’s hard to say if this could even be defined as dance music, the two tracks being constantly surprising in direction throughout their length. A fascinating release by a fascinating artist.




Skull Crusher / Clunge – Numan / SDUK (Slit Jockey, 2010)

The third 12” on Starkey’s label, Slit Jockey, features two exciting newcomers to the dance scene, Manchester’s Numan and London boy SDUK. This release is made for dancing – both tracks feature heavy beats and bass designed to get you moving. Numan’s ‘Skull Crusher’ is up first, coming in with metallic synth washes and distant speech samples before dropping into a main beat that Starkey himself would be proud of. On the flip, SDUK’s hilariously-titled ‘Clunge’ lulls you into a false sense of security with soft vocal stabs before not one, but two massive synth riffs crash into the track, eventually leading into a huge main beat that I’ve seen inspire some truly ridiculous jump-around dance moves many times. This is a solid step in the right direction from both of these young artists, and I, for one, hope to hear more from them soon.




By Jack Luckett

Album Review:

Cave In
Planets of Old EP
Release Date: 08/02/2010


Dealing with any release from a band with a career-story like Cave In’s is difficult. A long history of prog/metalcore turned (according to long-standing fans) commercial tripe with 2003’s Antenna could warrant genuine apprehension when approaching Planets of Old; but I feel I can safely say that these fans can have much to look forward to on the basis of this, their first offering for 4 years. They’re back – and they mean it.

If metalcore or prog-metal are what we associate with Cave In’s “true form”, then Planets of Old certainly revisits these genres. First track ‘Cayman Tongue’ kicks in loud and hard. The guitars are down-tuned and textured with layers of precisely synchronised effects. The bass is loud and viscerally chugging. Vocals are by turns soft and ear-laceratingly ferocious. And guess what – you like it. And you want more. This is Cave In the way they should be: aggressive, fist-clenching (had me going a few times) and downright assertive.

‘Retina Sees Rewind’ is a crisp, hook-laden pocket nuke of a song that will have you banging your head along with the syncopated drumming. There’s more than a whiff of the more grunge-inflected material circa Antenna, but this influence is channelled more successfully than ever before. Yet what follows, for me personally, was certainly not on the radar: ‘The Red Trail’ pummels listeners with an uncompromising showcase of pure psychedelic hardcore. The vocals are vicious, the guitars dissonant and heavy, bass aptly distorted; this song is, to phrase in the most colloquial terms, mental, and perfectly embodies what psychedelic hardcore-punk is all about. But I also have a mild gripe with its presence on this record, in so far that we don’t seem to be getting any continuity in musical style on the EP as a whole. It’s definitely not a bad song, and there’s nothing wrong with experimenting, but I’m pretty sure Cave In wrote it because it sounds damn fun to play.

No doubt, Cave In are back on form; but I can’t help wanting more from this EP. The tracks (excepting the first one) are frustratingly short and we are still left in the dark as to exactly what sound Cave In will be pursuing in the future – but then maybe that’s what makes Planets of Old so exciting. I wasn’t a huge Cave In fan before, but they have gone about their business in slowly converting me. I expect that older fans won’t be disappointed either.

8/10 (For fans of: Glassjaw, Thrice, Reuben, Oceansize)

By Chris To

Album Review:

Fool’s Gold
Fool’s Gold
Release Date: 25/01/2010


On paper, Fool’s Gold are a world music fan’s dream: a nine-piece ensemble from Los Angeles that plies their trade playing poppy afrobeat, sung in Hebrew. Although the mere mention of “world” in describing any contemporary band is likely to ring a big, shiny Vampire Weekend bell, a strict comparison should be avoided. Fool’s Gold are greater in number than their East Coast afropop contemporaries, and their extensive brass and percussive sections afford them a larger, richer sound. Furthermore, Fool’s Gold’s eclectic approach fails to deliver on the hype – the song quality on this first offering is as varied as their cultural backgrounds and influences.

The main problem with this LP is that it peaks almost as soon as it begins – album opener and first single ‘Surprise Hotel’ is the strongest song by a country mile. The bright twang of overlapping guitar riffs, afrobeat rhythms and dizzy saxophone solos build to a dancey carnivalesque outro that instantly raises the spirits. The majority of the remainder of the album is, however, dominated by mid-pace five-minute-plus ballads that quickly grow old. That these tracks fail is an inescapable consequence of vocalist Luke Top’s decision to sing solely in Hebrew. Whilst his chanting plays a key role in the success of the more upbeat tracks; faced with a drop in tempo and in the absence of a strong hook on tracks such as ‘Nadine’, ‘The World Is All There Is’, and ‘Momentary Shelter’, it inevitably alienates non-Hebrew-speaking listeners. Meanwhile, classically trained guitarist and co-songwriter Lewis Pescacov seems to have been given licence to solo virtually at will. This yields dividends in ‘Ha Dvash’, but even his talent as a player does not justify the boorish length and tempo of the aforementioned tracks.

There are, however, some other nuggets that can join ‘Surprise Hotel’ in the pot of genuine musical gold, namely ‘Poseidon’ and ‘Night Dancing’. They demonstrate Fool’s Gold’s ability to spice up their classic afrobeat setup with the inclusion of synthesisers, sometimes adding a darker dimension to their sound. This is most notable on ‘Night Dancing’ where the track descends into a fuzzy haze of electronic arpeggios – a far cry from the sunny guitars of ‘Surprise Hotel’.

Unfortunately, like a film that puts all the best bits in the trailer, this album fails to fulfil its promise. The band’s name, ironically, offers an apt description of this album’s failings: looks have flattered to deceive the hype-hungry music blogs that promised something truly special from this multicultural medley. This said, we should not write Fool’s Gold off – there is potential for greatness. Let’s hope their next effort is a 24 carat classic.

6/10

By Jóse Carbajo