alternative electronic music blog

Single Review: Dream On - Christian Falk feat. Robyn

BlackPlastic — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:31:46 +0000

Even all this time after the haunting melodies of 'With Every Heartbeat' first pricked up BlackPlastic's ears Robyn still holds a special place: worth at least five Britneys, her music is access, beauty and lightening in one. And yet it is all also old...

As fresh as the last album sounded much of it had existed in one form or another for years and the same is true of this latest piece with Christian Falk. But what makes Robyn one of BlackPlastic's favourite popstresses is the fact that even tracks that have been around a while still sound newer than anything Brit or Xtina have released in pure time.

'Dream On' is your life support system but rather than being made of wires and tubes and maths it is people and friends and wave upon wave of familiarity and reassurance, layer upon layer. As Robyn confirms:

"Rest you weary heads - All is well: You won't be strip-searched, hung-up tonight.
You won't be cut-up, bleeding tonight.
You won't be strung out, cold, shaking to your bones wishing you were anywhere else but right here."

The lyrics may seem cold but the delivery is anything but and when Robyn confidently assures BlackPlastic that they won't want to be anywhere but here our instincts are naturally to trust her: there is nothing but joy here.

BP x

Album Review: Secret Machines - Secret Machines

BlackPlastic — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:17:13 +0000

Secret Machines are back, this time with an eponymous, self-released follow up to 2006's Ten Silver Drops. The pop sensibilities have lost out to a heavier sound, more reminiscent of the glorious Now Here Is Nowhere, yet the sure scale of some of Ten Silver Drops' larger moments (the lovely 'Alone, Jealous & Stones') are maintained.

The effect is an album that feels like one-step-back to Ten Silver Drops' two-steps-forward but trust BlackPlastic when we say this is a good thing. The slight lack of unified direction that album suffered from is no longer a problem. What is left is a focused, taught album of progressive rock tracks, be it the space opera of 'I Never Thought To Ask' or the psychotic breakdown of 'The Walls Are Starting To Crack', that will make you feel like you are living in a David Bowie movie.

The self-released aspect may make this trickier to come across but it's still available via the usual channels (iTunes, Amazon) and, as with the rest of the Secret Machines catalogue, it is well worth picking up. Nobody does epics on this scale and as the closing 'The Fire Is Waiting' kicks in the band sound more like a rocket ship departing the launch pad than any of their earth-bound contemporaries.

BP x

Album Review: Convivial - Luomo

BlackPlastic — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 07:21:09 +0000

Ever since Sasu Ripatti's first album under his Luomo pseudonym, Vocalcity, came out in 2000 it has always received high praise within certain circles. A blogger's favourite, the album's minimalist design and sophisticated textures gained it favour with those prepared to put in the effort. Sadly the cost of this was an album without much mass appeal and so, whilst those that know it generally love it, you are unlikely to find a copy in Tesco.

Several Luomo projects on (Ripatti has several other alter egos) and Convivial could just change all that: it features vocals recorded by a series of guests. Combined with, in places at least, the cold yet organic sound of Ripatti's production you get a mature album that neatly sidesteps any of the issues house (or in this case, minimal / tech-house) albums usually have by just making an album full off those crossover tracks that are gold in the clubs but have vocals good enough to make them work at home.

And so you have Apparat's vocals combined with a pretty ferocious percussion backing on the spooky 'Love You All' and Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears on 'If I Can't'. Robert Owens also guests on 'Robert's Reason', a nice deep-tech-house track, full of funky bleeps and stabs that would be one of Owens' finest pieces in recent memory if only his turn on Layo & Bushwacka!'s debut album, 'Low Life', weren't so damn good that it sticks in your head like your first kiss. The rest of the album's guests may not be as high profile but the music itself shines just as consistently.

But maybe, in some respects, that is a problem. Convivial is, much like Morgan Geist's Double Night Time, undoubtedly a labour of love. It has been less 'recorded', more carved, like something a carpenter might make out of a block of wood. Yet the result is an album that is so consistent and singular in its sound and vision that, in reality, each track sounds best when separated from the surroundings of the rest of the album so it has room to breath.

Having said which Convivial is still a good album. It takes the the foundations of previous Luomo albums and builds on these and the level of sophistication never drops below a dinner-party-for-people-in-their-late-twenties level. BlackPlastic just craves for a few bolder moves that stray a bit further from the comfort zone.

BP x

Album Review: Kitsuné Maison Compilation 6 - Various

BlackPlastic — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 08:51:00 +0000

Like a bunch of angry youths ditching their regular stabby, dull knives for lovely fresh luminous flick knives the new Kitsuné Maison Compilation (that's 6 to you) leaves behind a little (just a little) of the roughness in favour of some lovely hooks. That's right, Kitsuné Maison 6 is dubbed 'The Melodic One', almost like it is a two-dimensional character within a sitcom.

But it isn't two dimensional, is it? No, because it has melody, in the form of Lo-Fi-Fnk's gorgeously downbeat 'Want U' for example, but it also has nastiness - just check out the rather aggressive 'Say Whoa' by A-Trak or Etienne De Crecy's clanging 'Hanukkah'.

Maison 6's best moments see the above two approaches combined. The burst-ear-drum attack of You Love Her Coz Shes Dead's 'Superheroes' is drenched in distortion and melodies and shouts and hooks and it's like going from being 12 to 25 in three minutes. D.I.M.'s remix of Fischerspooner's 'Danse En France' takes the mildly subtle original, douses it in petrol and then spits a fag at it and the result is a bass line to alienate friends and lovers with but a salve is provided in the melodic hook that has been retained for the bridge.

Predictably then it's all rather good and dependable, a bit like PG Tips for nu-rave kids with glowsticks. If you haven't ever bought a Kitsuné compilation this is what to expect: the sound of that cool alt.friend everyone has, six months early. If you have bought one of the previous releases then chances are you actually are that cool alt.friend so you probably don't need this review.

BP x

Album Review: Tapes - Various mixed by The Rapture

BlackPlastic — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:32:01 +0000

BlackPlastic has had a holiday - if you felt lonely in our absence then sorry. If you didn't notice then well done, you successfully hurt our feelings.

Following on from last album, Pieces of the People We Love, and further demonstrating their eclectic tastes The Rapture are back with their first mix album, out on the ever reliable K7 imprint.

And it is, for the most part, a basement booty shaking riot that takes in thrills, spills and bellyaches in quick secession with tracks such as The Bar-Kays 'Holy Ghost' appearing in a track list alongside Ghostface Killah and 'Where's Jason K?' from the DFA's Syclops.

And BlackPlastic says "for the main part" because it, whilst it appreciates the guys' effort, it still isn't really ready to revisit Paul Johnson's 'Get Get Down'. On the flipside the band to incorporate a bit of Armand Van Helden's 'Flowerz' and, rather than spoiling the mix, it acts as a high point. It's undoubtedly one of Armand's finer, more subtle moments, and it shines as a result.

Overall this set represents a fantastic party soundtrack and whether it is in sunny disco in the form of Northend's 'Tee's Happy' or the 70s urban party chic twisted up into a k-hold that is Dances With White Girls' 'Everybody's Got to Make a Living' there is something to move you.

BP x

Album Review: The One - Shinichi Osawa

BlackPlastic — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 07:35:00 +0000

Finally getting a proper UK release through Norman Cook's Southern Fried imprint, if you follow the mp3 blogs some of The One will already be familiar to you. On the other hand if you don't you are in for a treat. Following up on BlackPlastic's thoughts in introducing the new Morgan Geist album, The One takes the other approach - there is undoubtably talent at work here, it is just focuses on making the best thrills possible.

As some background, Osawa has previously released material under the guide of Mondo Grosso - this material tended to be more traditional house, veering towards deep house. The fact that he has begun recording under his real name reflects a change in direction, with his sound reflecting more closely his DJ sets, which are also performed under his real name.

Osawa's The One opens with his glorious cover of the Chemical Brothers' 'Star Guitar' and it's difficult to pin-point what is so great about it, particularly as the original was so perfect, but the beefed-up distorted bass and vocals from Au Revoir Simone certainly help. Seriously, can we get Au Revoir Simone to provide backing vocals for Black Plastic's life please?

As an album opener and lead single, 'Star Guitar' does a good job of introducing Shinichi to a new audience. Rest assured, if you like what you have heard of Osawa's work so far you are likely to enjoy this. But for the uninitiated, this is what to expect:

The One is an album of pop songs containing fuzzy, distorted basslines and catchy vocals mixed with enough attitude and bowel threatening wooshes and noises to annoy the hell out of the person sat next to you on the train.

The One ditches any ideas as dull as a concept and focuses on soon just one thing well: sticking forteen of the biggest, most enjoyably upfront radio-friendly electro-dance tracks you'll have heard in a bit all on one album.

There is a nice flow to the album, with slower tracks ensuring everything is paced well (and probably ensuring there will be the opportunity for some nice extended club mixes at some point).

It may not be sophisticated enough to be regarded as a classic but The One has enough attitude and ideas that it doesn't matter: this is a damn good ride.

BP x

Album Review: Double Night Time - Morgan Geist

BlackPlastic — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 07:34:00 +0000

Some songs sound like a tumble down the stairs into the warm embrace of a brand new lover: they are full of excitement, adrenalin an gimmicks. Others rely much less on tricks and instead focus on quality and longevity. BlackPlastic has two upcoming reviews, with one falling into each of the above categories.

Unsurprisingly, Morgan Geist's new (and to BlackPlastic's knowledge, first solo) album Double Night Time contains songs that resemble the latter template rather than the former. Put it on your CD shelf and it WILL be judging you, your frivolous Ed Banger CDs, that ridiculous Hadouken! album, the fact that you have a secret admiration for the Wombats.

Because, without doubt, this album is too good for you. What you have in Double Night Time is a beautifully crafted body of work. An album where every click, drum pattern and synth line has been carefully considered, fretted over and perfected.

Yet there are the odd duff moments, like on instrumental 'Nocobo' for example, where the ideas just seem to lack the pizazz of the releases of Geist's other project Metro Area. The occasional dry patch is more than made up for elsewhere, however. Following in the footsteps of last year's 'Most of All', which itself features here, many of the songs here feature vocals from Junior Boys' Jeremy Greenspan. And the result is never less than glorious - 'Detroit' is pure sophistication, shimmying on by like the best lay you never had whilst 'Ruthless City' boasts a minimal approach to pop that shows what you can do with a bass line, a bit of synth and a few snippets of the right vocal. Greenspan's vocals are just made for this shit - the subtlety of the instrumentation complimenting perfectly the understated nature of his voice.

Yet despite how good a combination Geist and Greenspan make, Double Night Time's best track is completely instrumental, the relaxed yet haunting 'Lullaby'. Minimal and intelligent, it largely reflects what makes Geist's music great on the whole. The trumpet that carries the melody through to the album's finish is a fitting end to an set that sparkles.

BP x

Album Review: Notwave - Various

BlackPlastic — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:37:06 +0000

The DFA still effortlessly piss all over all other record labels in the cool stakes just like your best friend's cooler older brother did when you were eleven. No matter how much they try, no other label quite manages to nail the maturity combined with experimentalism of a DFA release. Notwave sees them team up with Rong Music to revisit the NY No-Wave scene of the late seventies...

...Only instead of peddling some cuts from thirty years ago we get a fresh batch from current artists. With the exception of a cut from James Chance and the Contortions, one of the bands actually present for the original movement, these bands are drawing inspiration from a scene that passed away years ago but the tracks themselves are all bang-up-to-date.

So you get some nice, spikey, angular rock like the muted 'Unwelcome Guest' from Quad Throw Salchow and Freshro's dark and sexualised cover of Spoon's 'I Turn My Camera On' that just make great, intelligent, pop records. Tim Love Lee turns in two mixes in the form of the free-falling 'No Search No Entry' by Striplight and Circuits' 'Pistols at Dawn'. The former sounds like Republica re imagined as a post-punk roller coaster whilst the later is a throbbing crescendo to a climatic vocal call that results in the record descending into a tribal rock breakdown. Both are utterly fantastic.

Notwave is the DFA's best compilation in ages, possibly ever. Streamlined and beautiful, it boasts a fantastic atmosphere that drags the listener through more sounds, places and genres than you could find in most entire record shops. From clipped dub workouts like Tussle's 'Elephants Meandering' to the dark and evil re imagining of the Peter Gunn theme that is Welcome Stranger's paranoid 'Smoke Machine', Notwave is never less than exhilarating.

BP x

Album Review: Ladyhawke - Ladyhawke

BlackPlastic — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 07:26:00 +0000

More music from down-under on the Modular imprint only this time it is from New Zealand and takes the form of shimmering pop music courtesy of Ladyhawke's eponymous début.

Capturing the dreamy melodies of Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac and combining them with an accessible pop asthetic, Ladyhawke should be your brand new favourite pop-act (file her next to Robyn, Annie and Roisin Murphy). Join in choruses are aplenty ('My Delerium', 'Better Than Sunday') but where the album really hits is when the 80s vibe that permeates the likes of 'Another Runaway' and 'Back Of The Van' is ratcheted up a notch - check out the former's jogging-on-the-spot beat or the latter's fantastic "You set me on fire" chorus.

This is another album that really clearly demonstates what pop music should be: fantastic, catchy and beautiful. As Britney unleashes another turd onto the charts (sorry, the guys at Pop Justice are just wrong about this one) and X Factor gains its stride for another pre-Christmas FOC prime-time three-month ad campaign you can be damn sure that Blackplastic will be recommending this to as many people as possible. BlackPlastic is thinking that more thin, whiney, neutered, thinks-it's-terribly-risqué-but-in-reality-it's-terribly-tame, mass-produced pop is the last thing we need.

Yes, the state of the music industry pisses BlackPlastic off. Yes, it's always been shocking but that doesn't make it easier to swallow, especially when the labels are more clueless than ever and the model is coming apart at the seams. And so, to the idiotic people who saddle up to make another fame-starved middle-England loser a 'Christmas' number one (don't even get BP started on what is wrong with such a notion) BlackPlastic says:

You set me on fire.

x

Album Review: Nights Out - Metronomy

BlackPlastic — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:31:50 +0000

Metronomy are fast being built up to be the new dance act it's okay for skinny jeaned kids to like and at times it has seemed that Joseph Mount is in danger of failing to live up to the hype. First album Pip Paine (Pay The £5000 You Owe) was charming in places and benefitted from a lo-fi asthetic yet it lacked direction and failed to feel distinct, stuck as it was, somewhere between Basement Jaxx and Zongamin.

With a line-up now been bolstered by the introduction of new members Oscar Cash and Gabriel Stebbing and the criticisms levelled Pip Paine do not hold true for second album Nights Out. Much more of an album proper than Metronomy's debut, Nights Out is actually in danger of being a concept album and features some proper vocals, narrating the progression and destruction of a relationship. Hear a snatch of Metronomy and it sounds disposable and meaningless and yet, within the flow of an album, it is clear there is some emotional depth.

The path from the initial heady excitement of 'Radio Ladio' (probably BlackPlastic's favourite song title this year) and 'My Heart Rate Rapid' through to the commiserations of 'Heartbreak' and the eventual soul-searching of 'On Dancefloors' plots a clear story and it is never less than totally believable. And at the same time the songs are so catchy you will be attempting to hum tiny snippets of electro for hours after the album has finished.

The frank and very British vocals combined with an eclectic and confident penchant for demolishing genre boundaries in the most radio friendly manner possible mark Metronomy as the new Streets for these wonky electro times, only better.

BP x

Tags: metronomy