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John Matthews
Subcutania
10 June 2001
and concocted a batch of songs that
are, once again, worthy of my attention. Hee hee.
I have a pair of gripes with this latest offering: A) It's TOO damn
short and B) it doesn't unexpectedly sonically explode at some
point. The build-up is present but they just don't seem to deliver the
wall crumbling blast of mock-orchestral noize us fans brace ourselves
for. A big trademark of theirs which they seem to have ditched
altogether. There's one extremely short, detached bit of disheveled,
Foetus-like mayhem but nothing that lasts for more than a blink of an
eye. Shame.
It's not totally removed from their horrid(!) 1997 album, Population
Four, which was a bland collection that any number of lackluster,
girl-fronted, feedback treated guitar pop bands could have done
. . . but far better. There's more space and buried industrial noize
elements (courtesy of brother Jim) in the pieces this time round for
Alison Shaw to create her own melodies instead of letting chords
dictate how she sings. And yes . . . she still sounds like a breathy
Claire Grogan (Altered Images) on helium.
Good, promising comeback from a band that foolishly forfeited
experimentation for convention in the second half of the 90's.
Album highlight:an insidious breakbeat track entitled Don't Wake Me Up.
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