Album Review: Noise Won't Stop - Shy Child

When Shy Child released their debut album, One With The Sun, back in 2004 there was a fair amount of critical praise from the specialist press - particularly for single 'The Noise Won't Stop'. Sadly it seemed like the band lacked both the production values and the sheer volume to have any real mainstream cross-over potential.

Thankfully Shy Child are back and on their new album Noise Won't Stop they have rectified both of these concerns. The drums are considerably beefier and the is definitely more a new layer of volume and distortion. The observant will already have figured that the new LP's title is a reference to the sleeper hit 'The Noise Won't Stop' and both this and one other track ('Summer' since you ask) make a reappearance in a more polished form.

It really now sounds like Shy Child actually have the sound they probably always thought they had. Opening track and lead single 'Drop The Phone' sounds like a frantic rant carried out by Stressed Eric or possibly Fry in the episode of Futurama when he drinks one hundred coffees. It's a modern anthem about the absolute terror that ensues when one drops their phone and there is so much going on that half the time BlackPlastic is too strung out to even notice the complete wig-out of a sax solo in the background. Who the hell doesn't need that in their lives?

The highly enjoyable Spank Rock (Spank Rock MySpace) feature on Kick Drum, lending some vocals and some stupid bass. The re-tooled 'Noise Won't Stop' suggests that Spank Rock didn't ensure they had all their valuables when they left Shy Child's place as it seems to feature the same completely over the top bass that graces Spank Rock's own 'Backyard Betty'.

'The Volume' and 'Summer' manage to sound like pop music made by kids too cool for pop music, resembling 80s pop and Brit Pop respectively but with edge and added electronics. 'Generation Y (We Got It)' even has a wicked female vocal join-in bit and the album's probably highlight comes in the form of 'Astronaut', which descends into a lush electronic freakout.

BlackPlastic has already noted that the album's unrelenting nature is reminiscent of Test Icicles' frankly fantastic For Screening Purposes Only but it all also feels somewhat like The Rapture's recent Pieces of the People We Love in that it's essentially a bit of a party album with issues. It will be interesting to see where the hell Shy Child can go from here but following a stint supporting The Klaxon's you can be fairly confident that with hooks as enjoyable as the ones found here and a sound so indisputably 'now' this will not be the last we hear from our stressed friends from NYC.

Shy Child - MySpace / Official Site.

Check this out: Dope mix at MissingToof

BlackPlastic has recently discovered the rather ace MissingToof.com and if you find the stuff discussed here enjoyable you'll likely enjoy MissingToof too.

Head over there right now to enjoy the frankly awesome Is This Thing Loaded??? mix by PARIS. Expect some nasty, nasty acid. There's no published track listing but there is definitely some Justice in there and there is also Soulwax's frankly demoralising good near complete destruction of Robbie William's Love Light which is always one to get BlackPlastic a little over excited.

Go forth and enjoy.

Film Review: The Science of Sleep

True, BlackPlastic doesn't do film reviews, but this is directed by Michel Gondry who has also directed the best music videos ever, so it's cool. Plus this'll be brief.



This film is beautiful and honest and funny and imaginative and tragic and full of imagination. It is completely surreal but at the same time it is true and on almost every level it IS BlackPlastic's life.



'I wish I could go back in time to when I didn't find her attractive'.



With love,

BP x



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Sent using a Sony Ericsson mobile phone

Comment: Everything is beautiful again

BlackPlastic is suffering from man-flu but has been pondering the fact that music is once again more exciting than it has been in years. Not since 2003 have things felt so positive. Even the over-rated bands ('Hi there Klaxons!') aren't half bad.

This week BlackPlastic has been getting excited about:

1. The Teenagers. This shit is beautiful. A Wonderful mix of lo-fi post-punk wobbly-ness and nu-rave attitude. They'll own the world one day, mark my words. Go over to Hype Machine and check out the ice-cold 'Homecoming' and the heart stopping 'Starlett Johansson' (you're no-one unless some random band has written a song in your honour these days). The Teenager's MySpace.
2. New Young Pony Club. They may have had their slutty sounds all over Intel in their recent ad but BlackPlastic still loves them. New album Fantastic Playroom is out soon and there should be a review shortly. New Wave Nu Rave is so hot right now. New Young Pony Club MySpace.
   
3. Mr Derry. No real idea what this is about but it dropped through BlackPlastic's letter box a few weeks ago and their single Goodnight/Beasts and Pearls is out soon. It's good ol' Rock 'n' Roll in the vein of The Kills and when the sun is beating down it sounds freaking awesome. If BlackPlastic worked in TV advertising and had a hip young mobile brand or something 'Goodnight' would get picked up quick smart.
4. Shy Child. After releasing the enjoyable One With The Sun album a year or two back Shy Child have returned with Noise Won't Stop which features a couple of tracks from their debut re-tooled and upgraded (obviously their sleeper hit 'Noise Won't Stop', formerly with a 'the', is one of those cuts). One With The Sun reminds BlackPlastic of the chaotic and frenetic energy of the sorely missed Test Icicles. Album out now, review soon. Shy Child MySpace.
5. Everything else: Ed Banger still banging; Indietastic discovering this absolute gem of a track by Spoon - spooky electronics abound; new Interpol material and remixes of Rihanna that go off like a flash-bomb.
   

Album Review: † - Justice

Potentially the years most anticipated LP so far it seems that, aside from the slightly inevitable cries of 'sellout' that greeted D.A.N.C.E, Justice and their Ed Banger cohorts can do no wrong. Can they keep the pressure on for a whole album? Read on to find out...

So how do a bunch of thrash metal fans that create electronic music kick off an album? Well given that they call themselves Justice and their album is called, simply, † (pronounced 'cross'), it comes as little surprise that things start with an opening track entitled 'Genesis'. From the very outset † sounds like it is determined to destroy your soundsystem and possibly whatever fragile friendship you have with your neighbours, throwing out nasty basslines and pounding drums - this cries out to be played loudly in the car.

'Let There Be Light' continues the theme before distortion gives way to those funky shouting kids on 'D.A.N.C.E', which provides the natural relief one would expect - a sun ray through the clouds, it continues to sound as commercial and damn catchy as ever, but benefits even more from its context on †, the guilty pleasure you'll want to flip straight back to after the album closes.

The Daft Punk influences are never far from view, as demonstrated by 'New Jack', a distorted yet funky freak-out with cut-up vocals. Those familiar with Ed Banger Records' label compilation Ed Rec 2 will know what to expect from 'Phantom Part I', another instrumental distorted funk-fueled breakdown that gradually sounds like it is falling apart until it comes back to life in the form of 'Phantom Part II', a phoenix from the flames that ups the funk with some strings and a little more space.

'Valentine' is exactly the type of slightly camp French electro-wizardry one would expect of Daft Punk, almost reminiscent of 'Veridis Quo' from their one Discovery album. 'The Party' introduces the absolutely wonderful Uffie to the masses. It's fun, adorable and possibly the first thing that Uffie's lent her vocals to that could actually get played on the radio. In fact 'The Party' could just be the laid back sound of the summer and like 'D.A.N.C.E' it acts as a natural counterpoint to the rest of the album.

'DVNO' is fresh filtered vocal house that sounds like the sort of thing Daft Punk should be doing. Again, it's relatively commercial and radio friendly yet retains a spiky enough edge to keep the fans happy.

†'s closing quarter kicks off with 'Stress', sounding like a hand grenade to the face. Huge whirling synths encircle strings whilst the basslines build to the point of spontaneous combustion, at which point the sirens kicks off. 'Stress' is the realization of all of Justice's experiments in downright nasty distortion and as potentially the biggest dancefloor record here it will tear the roof of any club that plays it. You have been warned.

Former single, 'Waters of Nazareth' keeps the volume levels up with its trademark filthy cut-up bassline. In retrospect 'Waters of Nazareth' pretty much sounds like a mission plan for this album, a watershed from the slightly thin sounding (now at least) 'Never Be Alone' (which doesn't appear here). Things draw to a close with the surprisingly down-tempo 'One Minute To Midnight', a nice chunky bass workout that sounds like it wants to be a gansta rap metal record.

† may disappoint some people. It isn't quite as nose-bleed inducing as it could be and there are several rather commercial tracks. BlackPlastic argues that this is no bad thing - if anyone can shake up pop music a little bit it's the Ed Banger crew. We need Uffie on MTV and we need SebAstian remixing Girls Aloud and this record just might help to achieve that. What's more, as a whole † is a killer album with some skull-rupturing climaxes and has done what Daft Punk have been unable to in two albums. When it's in full swing † is so epic it feels like giving birth to He-Man.

On a related note the video for 'D.A.N.C.E' is on YouTube and is rather awesome. Take a look: