The Brian Jacket Letdown--Eat Your Friends

Budded from a surreal childhood friendship, classical pianist Tom Phillips and puppeteer Will Harper make up The Brian Jacket Letdown—a collection of English, Brazilian, French, and Polish musicians who have developed into a hefty outfit shaking off their genesis and looking to the future. After releasing a debut EP, The Brian Jacket Letdown garnered much attention in the likes of supporting Misty’s Big Adventure, Scritti Politti, and Brian Jonestown Massacre. This year launched with an appearance on BBC2’s “The Culture Show,” and now continues with the band’s sophomore EP Eat Your Friends. “Eat Your Friends” begins with “Russian-style hoohah chanting” and buds into an oddly rhythmic blend of folk and indie rock. The vocals are quick, chaotic, and not meant to be understood. Such is the off-kilter style of The Brian Jacket Letdown. The B-side “Me and My Dog” sounds like an acoustic Ad Astra Per Aspera or, as they put it, “Led Zeppelin doing a cover of Japanese Kabuki theatre music.” Their guitar ability is uncanny, emulating a stumbling, rickety feeling while staying brilliantly rhythmic and fast-paced. The guitar solos on “Me and My Dog” are worth picking up Eat Your Friends alone, if not for exposure to a new take on old styles. Look for more to come from The Brian Jacket Letdown.

(Published at MusicEmissions.com)

Dusty Kid--Signal EP

Dusty Kid – a new project fronted by Paolo Lode – peppers their first EP with four distinct tracks. Of previous Duoteque fame, Lode is a well-known techno song writer with a plethora of tracks under his belt—precisely why choosing just a few was so difficult for this EP. So they threw 4 completely different tracks in, all of which could survive separately on their own singles.

I Love Richie is a non-stop techno hit filled to the brim with bass-beats and tip-of-the-ear vocals. Conga-style drums effects lace the track, adding a vibe of constancy through the ups and downs of the foundation beats. “See the stars come out tonight,” whispers the vocalist, before falling into a raging pit of techno frequencies and conga-drums. Cowboys adds a jazzy twist to the usual flow, adding some more pop-driven drum beats under a modest melodic front. Matrakoma is a house track if there ever was one, complete with a insanely-driving bass beat (and that doesn’t begin to describe it) and freaky vocals. This leads nicely into The Riot, a extremely catchy groove that won’t fail to get your foot moving and your head banging. Vibrant, moving, and complex, The Riot stands out as a clear winner.

Paolo Lode erases all doubt of his solo ability with Dusty Kid’s release. These 4 tracks could easily support their own EPs, but are instead thrown into one—showing the sheer volume of Lode’s creative process. Additionally, each one of these tracks is distinctly different from the last, adding flavors of jazz, house, techno, and pop all into one EP. Dusty Kid looks to be an outfit to watch, and I hope Lode continues releasing work of this quality.

(Published at 365Mag.com)

Torch Remixes

Great Stuff is back for more remixes as artists Namito and Rainer Weichhold put their musical talent to Soft Cell’s Torch release. Soft Cell, made up of Marc Almond and Dave Ball, are best (or worst) known of their release Tainted Love. This – the second of Great Stuff’s Soft Cell remixes – proceeds the 2006 effort that failed to make as big a splash as hoped. But Great Stuff is trying again, this time with Kling Klong’s Namito and Rainer Weichhold. This is Weichhold’s first remix, but never fear as he has Butch alongside to aid in the reinterpretation of this famed release.

Both tracks extensively use vocals in combination with driving bass beats. Weichhold’s version becomes mesmerizing with the repeated word “Come,” an eerie combination with his darker techno melodies. His track falls into silence midway through, only to rise back out of the quiet for a dance-floor climax. Namito’s remix (dubbed Namito’s Torture) too contains a delicately played out climax, while the remainder of the track is pulled back and quieter in comparison to Weichhold.

I prefer Weichhold’s work over Namito, but both are driving dance-floor beats that, while they may not do the original’s justice (and what could?), they are certainly captivating tracks worthy of picking up.

(Published at 365Mag.com)

Butch--Life Is Deadly

Butch’s first release on Craft Work, Life Is Deadly represents Butch’s newest work since his remix work on Wehbba`s Mary`s Army last year. It was this remixing work that brought to light Butch’s enormous DJ and producing talent—talent that yielded deals with Craft Work, Trapez, Great Stuff, and Flash. Life Is Deadly contains two neo-trance tracks by Butch and one remix by Christian Phoenix.

Life is Deadly takes off slowly, but the bass-lines to come are worth the wait. Truly a trance track at just over eight minutes, Butch relentlessly drives the dance beat—adding in minimal melodic effects over the top. But its clear the main focus is the pulse. Christian Phoenix’s remix is darker, pulling back on the bass and leaving it as a slithering techno groove. More submerged and creeping than the original, Phoenix’s version loses none of the original’s punch. The release capper Mushrooms of Happiness is much more colorful, in that more melodic blips and beeps are added. Additional electronic claps and whistles make Mushrooms of Happiness live up to its name, especially in comparison to the earlier Life Is Deadly tracks.

Butch indeed seems to be worthy of his budding fame. With so many record signings, we can certainly hope for more of this quality in the future.

(Published at 365Mag.com)