Pit Er Pat's latest album is new, entitled The Flexible Entertainer and not particularly easy to sum up in a catchy soundbite at the start of a review.
Pit Er Pat's thing has always been about the atmospherics, moods and textures of their sound and this record is no different. Written for live performance on tour in Europe and later laid down in the studio it is uncompromisingly angular. The sound picks up where Gang Gang Dance's Saint Dymphna and Telepath's Dance Mother left off, carving out a rhythm from non congruent sounds.
The difference is that there is no relief. There is no pay-off. Where Saint Dymphna blows a gasket under the pressure and album-highlight 'Vacuum' sweeps in like a desert oasis, spacious and forgiving to the tracks it follows, The Flexible Entertainer just keeps on piling it on. Where Gang Gang Dance make pop music with Tinchy Stryder on 'Princes' Pit Er Pat feel far too po-faced to play with what their music could be. There are hints of R'n'B in 'Water' and the first half of 'Emperor of Charms' shines but it isn't enough.
The Flexible Entertainer is a record that thinks it is far cleverer than it really is. Snapshots intrigue but sustained listening suffocates.
Somehow both 2008 and 2009 seem to have been proclaimed "The Year of Dubstep"... Something that quite frankly bores BlackPlastic to tears because, well... It's just slowed down UK Garage really, isn't it? And you can try and big it up to be something more than that but as 'new genres' go it's treading what is already pretty well trodden ground. So Fabric 50, compiled and mixed by Martyn, is yet another bloody dubstep compilation.
Yet, actually, it's pretty darn good. And BlackPlastic can't really agree that this is any more 'dubstep' than it is 'nu skool breaks'. Or any other breaks genre really because in all honesty this shares more with the bass heavy breaks sound of early Stanton Warriors than any dubstep we ever heard.
Semantics aside Fabric 50 may be good, but it actually makes a bad first impression. Hudson Mohawke's opener 'Joy Fantastic' does a serviceable impression of Stankonia-era Outkast - it is fine but hardly as good as the real thing. And whilst Nubian Mindz's 'Bossa Boogie' is actually an enjoyably chunky take on breakbeat things begin to head downhill from there. Altered Native's 'Rass Out' is instantly forgettable and Zomby has two tracks early on in the album that utterly fail to justify the hype heaped upon him.
But things quickly turn around on DJBone's 'We Control The Beat'. It's an absolutely lush, warm slice of sound the introduces a house feel to Martyn's set that is more or less kept through to the end from that point on. Before you know it you're dizzy, staring at the floor to Martyn's dubby-ska mix of Detachments' 'Circles' and Joy Orbison's soulful and snappy 'Brkln Clln' (Broklyn Calling?).
And BlackPlastic can't help but feel that this slowed down garage album specifically just might be worth getting excited about. The twee pitched up samples of Burial come off like Sweet Female Attitude on PMT. But in comparison whilst Joy Orbison and Martyn may not justify a whole new genre tag (it's still just soulful breakbeat) they definitely worth listening to. Roska's mix of Martyn's 'These Words' is thick and paranoid and delicious and, unsurprisingly, it is Martyn's own productions that really shine in this mix - 'Friedrichstrasse' being another prime example.
Closing on Jan Driver's relative hard 'Rat Alert' followed by the funky and filtered 'Trilingual Dance Sexperience' by Dorian Concept, Fabric 50 is a confusing mix to the end. It's eclectic and confused and it starts badly, yet there it also clearly demonstrates why Martyn is one to watch.
BP x
Fabric 50 is out now, available from Amazon.co.uk on CD and MP3 [affiliate links].
With snow covering the ground in England at present reviewing Lindstrøm's latest album, a collaboration with vocalist Christabelle, feels a little incongruous. Yet at the same time it's a perfect fit, and that is because more than anything else Lindstrøm has done, even his laid back cosmic disco collaborations with Prins Thomas, Real Life Is No Cool feels like the warmth of the sun shining on your face.
Once past the slightly uncomfortable entrance of looping, reversed vocals Real Life Is No Cool quickly settles into a groove of tropical sounding beach vibes. It is quickly apparent that this is Lindstrøm's most straight-up house album yet. Opening track 'Looking For What' boasts a soulful piano refrain and waddling bassline that wouldn't sound out of place in a modern deep house track but it is the playfulness between the music and Christabelle's vocals that really lift things up, as on the break three minutes into this opening track.
There are traces of disco, Moroder and 80s experimentation throughout, as on the thick, heavy bassline of 'Lovesick', the sheer camp-celebration of 'Baby Can't Stop' or the acidic synthesizers of 'Let's Practice'. But more than anything this album is simply a relaxed lie down in the sun. At its best the result is utterly sublime - the repeated vocal refrain from the shimmering 'Keep It Up' feels like a dip in a pool whilst the impeccable stop-start timing of 'High & Low' ends things on a high note.
By basing the album around Christabelle's performance Lindstrøm has given Real Life Is No Cool a greater emotional depth that makes this album more than just excellent, it also makes it interesting and beautiful.
It may be cold outside but Real Life Is No Cool will undoubtedly chase away the chill.
Whilst the CD version doesn't see a full release for more than a month it is currently available at Rough Trade, where it comes packaged with two bonus CDs, one featuring remixes (including the ace Aeroplane mix of 'Baby Can't Stop') and another featuring an exclusive 43-minute cover of the Christmas classic 'Little Drummer Boy'. The latter proves a highlight provided you are prepared to ride its utterly bonkers journey to completion. Based around the song's trademark marching-band rhythm it gradually drills itself into you skull. In the closing minutes it begins to sound like a bizarre sci-fi epic space-war battle march, only one which culminates not in laser fire and trench-runs but in a battle where the weapons are snowballs and mince pies. It's totally ridiculous, and frankly essential Christmas listening as a result.
BP x
Real Life Is No Cool is available now from Amazon.co.uk on MP3 and released on January 25 on CD and LP [affiliate links].
In constrast to Dragonette's Fixin' To Thrill, Annie's looooong awaited second album takes a bit longer to love. Perhaps it's fitting, since it has taken years to get released, with false starts and internet leaks and at times it felt like it never would see the light of day.
With a tracklist that has seen more changes than the line-up for the Sugababes there are four producers (and that is on top of Annie herself) in Xenomania, Paul Epworth and previous collaborators Richard X and Timo Kaukolampi. With a few tracks (the Epworth efforts) being added at a later date and at least three producers well known for their distinctive styles it is unsurprising that Don't Stop feels a little like a taster menu.
Yet with a but of time invested it becomes clear that Annie still got it. Whist it isn't strong in the traditional sense Annie's voice remains distinctively irresistible - the auditory equivalent of some sort of candy floss / ice cream / chocolate combo that feels sweet, fun and sexy all at once.
Admittedly the album may not flow as well as it would under one (or indeed two, or even three) producers, the individual tunes themselves more than make up for it. 'Songs Remind Me Of You' still feels like perfect Richard X - a re-imagining of the Human League and synth pop for our times. Whilst at least some of the Xenomania tracks shine - 'My Love Is Better' for example - it is Epworth's work that defines the album. Opener 'Hey Annie' breezes with confidence and self-assurance and boasts a depth of sound and detail that sparkles whilst 'I Don't Like Your Band' is the most fantastic put-down record, delivered in a cool and condescending way that just makes Annie seem even cooler:
"Don't get me wrong, I like you - but I don't like your band, your style, your sound"
From Annie's lips it's a pretty cutting line. As we approach the tenth anniversary of Annie's breakthrough single 'Greatest Hit' it seems a shame that we have had to wait so long for new material. It also seems frankly ridiculous that earlier singles 'I Know Ur Girlfriend Hates Me' and 'Anthonio' got cut from this album in an effort to make things fresh since they would comfortably provide highlights here and are hardly over-exposed.
Ultimately though? Annie oozes so much class you can't help but simply revel in her return. BlackPlastic just hopes the next album comes quicker and has Epworth and Richard X at the helm.
Check out 'Songs Remind Me of You' below:
BP x
Out now, available on CD, LP and MP3 from Amazon.co.uk [affiliate links].
BlackPlastic doesn't cover as much pop as we would like but there are two recent releases that deserve a mention. Both of these releases have been out for a little bit - one for quite some time, albeit in another form - yet they are both too interesting to skip over. BlackPlastic will tackle one now and the other in a few days.
Dragonette's sophomore album Fixin' To Thrill is a bag o' nails pop record that jostles along at a pace that makes it quite evident that it doesn't much care what you think. BlackPlastic first warmed to the Aussie four-piece after hearing their snarky cover of Calvin Harris' 'Girls' (re-titled 'Boys') and the killer track 'I Get Around' (the Van She Tech remix of which remains BlackPlastic's favourite Van She remix).
And Fixin' To Thrill easily live up to those expectations. This is pop music turbo charged. Keep Madonna. Keep La Roux. Keep Boots. Keep Gaga. Dragonette manage to outshine them all, particularly on the muted but slinky 'Easy' or the perfectly infectious 'Pick Up The Phone'.
This is a taste of pop music not as it often is (insipid, watered-down) and not the mass-produced, stamped-out from a cut-out template type affair. In the UK we now have a famous Facebook group campaigning to get Rage Against The Machine to number one for Christmas in an attempt to disrupt the usual dominance of the charts that 'talent' show juggernaut X Factor holds at this time of year. BlackPlastic says forget that - vote for pop at Christmas, just make sure it's good: Vote for Dragonette.
BP x
Fixin' To Thrill is out now, available on MP3 at Amazon.co.uk [affiliate link].
