Album Review: Fabric 45 - various mixed by Claude VonStroke

Claude VonStroke has something of an identity problem. His breakthrough track 'Who's Afraid Of Detroit', with it's spooky, spacious take on minimal and Detroit techno, was met with pretty much universal acclaim. It was the kind of track any DJ could get away with dropping. Yet whilst VonStroke's 'The Whistler' managed to garner a certain degree of attention it certainly didn't achieve the same level of acclaim.

VonStroke, or Barclay Crenshaw to give him his proper name, started making hip-hop and got into house and techno after being forced to write the soundtrack for a documentary he helped make on superstar DJs. Unable to afford to license music from the DJs themselves VonStroke and his fellow collaborators on the film wrote and made all the music themselves, replicating the style of each DJ. Given his background, a lack of identity is perhaps a little understandable - he has neither managed to create a great artist album nor is he regarded as a truly great DJ. A least not yet.

Because Fabric 46 is actually a pretty consistent and coherent mix. Odd, given VonStroke's history and his own assertion that this mix deliberately a mixture of styles. It's a testament to the sequencing then that the likes of the sleazy Detroit Grand Pubahs' 'Big Onion' manage to sit in a mix that also dabbles in strings (in the fantastic instrumental dub of Kiki's 'Immortal') and contains touches of jazz (Robag Whrume's tech-house 'Guppipepitsche') and the intelligent noodling of two Stimming tracks.  Claude has deliberately twisted this mix in on itself and chopped the tracks up to the point where the whole thing flows.

Fabric 46 is another tech-house mix and whilst it is varied Claude VonStroke hasn't exactly torn up the rule book here. What he has done however is construct a mix that progresses and does far more and with more consistency than many others could do within the confines of the genres visited throughout the album.

BP x

Album Review: Fantasies - Metric

BlackPlastic had something else chalked in for a review today but this suited the current mood better.

And that's because Metric's latest proves that they still create the perfect soundtrack to a grey day. Fantasies is moody and aggravated and still hasn't quite forgiven you yet. Fantasies is rainy days and skivey days spent in strange places. Fantasies is not knowing the answers, not knowing the solutions. Fantasies may be the solution or may just be another part of the problem.

As an album it might be Metric's most sophisticated yet. It is certainly more measured and consistent, but it also has some of their biggest single songs. 'Help I'm Alive', with its insistent beat and soaring chorus is fantastically conflicted and the break, where it drops to just the bass and vocal, is glorious. Other highlights come in the ugly truth of 'Gold Guns Girls' and closing track 'Stadium Rock', with the former sounding like a friend telling you the ugly truth from which you have long hidden whilst the latter calls Yeah Yeah Yeahs to mind with its squawks and Nick Zinner-esque guitar work.

If BlackPlastic is going to spend an afternoon battered and bruised it can't think of a better album to soundtrack it. Fantasies sounds like the brutal honesty of someone who can do nothing but tell the truth, and sometimes we all need a bit of humble pie.

BP x

Released on 27 April 2009, available from Amazon.co.uk on CD and MP3

Album Review: Kitsuné Tabloid - Various selected by Phoenix

In a departure for Kitsuné this is neither remotely dance related nor mixed. It is a compilation in the classic sense, as Phoenix select a range of songs - almost all of which are at least ten years old (usually more) - that they love and that inspire them.

Being the well mannered possessors of catholic taste that they are, Phoenix's first compilation is a considered, methodical and, most of all, utterly beautiful affair. From the opening strains of Kiss' 'Love Theme From Kiss' the latest Kitsuné Tabloid (Digitalism provided the first) is like losing yourself in a good book. It's a journey full of texture and detail and feeling beyond that which should be provided by a mere Tabloid.

As you might expect from Phoenix the overall sound oozes intelligent sensuality. The sublime 'Rise Above' from The Dirty Projectors is a case in point - unbelievably for an artist that specializes in covering Black Flag records they have never heard it is a gorgeous piece of folk music with the kind of falsetto vocals that will soon have you making a fool of yourself when no-one is watching.

Pretty much every track is a highlight - whilst Elvis Costello & The Attractions' morose 'Shipbuilding', Urge Overkill's 'Stull (Part One)', Irma Thomas' 'It's Raining' and Lou Reed's stunning 'Street Hassle' stick in BlackPlastic's head but there are plenty more gems here. Oh, and of course Tangerine Dream's 'Love On A Real Train' is always gorgeous as well.

Phoenix have described this album as selfish - it's just what they would make for themselves. What's great is that in the hands of the right person, the selfish album they make for themslves is the most interesting. It's autobiographical and it's genuine.

BP x

Available on Amazon.co.uk on CD (not available on MP3 yet as far as BlackPlastic knows, plus the artwork is lovely).

Album Review: Fist of God - MSTRKRFT

The new MSTRKRFT album is a bit of an odd one and it isn't particularly easy to explain why.

Around the time that Justice unleashed their début album Cross MSTRKRFT were also releasing their début The Looks. One artist went on to becoming a bit of a cross-over phenomenon whilst the other played it much cooler. At the end of the day however The Looks still got plenty of attention from the bloggers and, now that the Justice backlash has officially begun (check Krissi Murison's review of Peter, Bjorn & John over at the Guardian), MSTRKRFT's first album still gets praise heaped on it.

Fist of God is another crack at mainstream success and MSTRKRFT are going all out - check the guest spots from rappers N.O.R.E. and Ghostface Killah - and, seemingly as a result many have been turned off, giving this album a hard time.

It's understandable insofar as Fist of God is very different - it's a much louder album, drawing on the rock band leanings of Justice and Jesse F Keeler's former heavy metal project Death From Above 1979. The use of vocals is also a departure - the first album may have had a few vocal snippets but it was far from lead by them, Fist of God on the other hand has more vocal tracks than instrumentals and they are very hip-hop and R'n'B influenced.

The result does admittedly have a pop music feel but there are still some nice moments - the old skool rave transition into 'Breakaway' from 'Word Up' and the rough intro of opener 'It Ain't Love'. What really stumps BlackPlastic though is the people that hold The Looks up as a masterpiece only to shit on this.

Both MSTRKRFT albums are enjoyable but neither could honestly be considered great (certainly not on a par with either Justice's début nor DFA 1979's sole album). The Looks lacked polish and ideas whilst Fist of God has both in spades in places but then lacks variety (and 'Word Up' featuring Ghostface Killah is quite quite horrible).

So Fist of God is worth checking out, yes. As good as The Looks? Probably. Brilliant? Sadly not.

BP x

Available on Amazon.co.uk on CD

Single Review: Counterpoint - Delphic

If this is anything to go by then we just might have stumbled across one of 2009's most exciting new bands. Foraging similar territories as BlackPlastic favorites Friendly Fires, Delphic mold a true hybrid between rock and epic, spaced out house music.

Only just entering their second year as a band Delphic come up with their music together on laptops and only then do they figure out how to play it live, laying instruments over the top before finally taking to the stage to perform their songs together in one continuous set.  From what BlackPlastic can hear it sounds like a pretty good system.

First singe 'Counterpoint' is produced by Ewan Pearson and it's a shimmering piece of electronic rock that sounds like an emotional two-finger salute, a celebration of the summer and a call for help all in one.  The video, directed by hAndz, is also quite cool:

Pearson is to start work on producing the debut album soon, meaning it should be one to look out for. Don't just take our word on it - we have a download of Delphic performing 'Counterpoint' live in Amsterdam here (right click, save as).

'Counterpoint' is released on 13 April 2009 on R&S.  Delphic - website / MySpace / Twitter.

Ewan Pearson on Twitter.

BlackPlastic on Twitter.

BP x