Good to have this crowd back - and back with a vengeance.
This starts with huge drum and bass assaults on your eardrums, then vox kick in -
in a similar style as Underworld. The merest hint of a melody begins to play in
the background as the vocals continue, straining to make themselves heard over the
backbeat. Then, the ryhthm changes and bass guitar-like samples build up, increase in volume
and become distorted, whipping up one impressive track. This is like Nine Inch Nails
without the theatrics and shock tactics, and deserves to see 808 State back in the
forefront of the current dance scene alongside Leftfield, Underworld and the rest.
Rating: 9/10
The Rest
Starts off sounding worryingly like Christopher Cross or similar LA lounge piano style
twiddling, but soon fortunately develops into a jazz-tinged, honky-tonk tuneful romp with
the piano ably augmented by bass and drums. Certainly, this is a lot different from the
norm and has the potential to become a major grower if you let it. In fact, the more you
hear it, the more you become convinced it's the ultimate summer sountrack and you reach to
turn up the volume. A refreshing, feel-good song.
Rating: 8/10
Starting with a cool, mellow electric piano riff, this laid-back and groovy new
single from Beck features the trademark drawled rap vocals and a quite frankly bizarre
chorus. Check out the robotic vocals, sax, feedback and samples - again, not your
run-of-the-mill indie fare, the most similar in style being Pavement.
Rating: 8/10
After the glorious "Navyhead" comes another chaotic and black view of the
world from Earl Brutus. Sounding a little like a very angry Glitter Band, this is
less effective than their previous single, but does contain enough to make it great -
but no classic. This lot give the impression that they're trying too hard to be different sometimes.
Rating: 7/10
A slow, bass-heavy dub is the first mix on this track from Edinburgh-based dance
outsiders Finitribe. "Original 1" lives up to this EP's name by featuring messy electro
rhythms and pulses crunching into each other. The other tracks are all instrumental,
the best of which being the "Black Metal Radio Edit", a fast-paced onslaught of beats
and techno effects. This is experimental hardcore dance; a far cry removed from some
of Finitribe's earlier more accessible material, which I must admit I preferred
(and on the strength of which I bought this!)
Rating: 5/10
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