REVIEW: DOUBLE ECHO EP

Double Echo’s most obvious traits lie, unsurprisingly for a music group, in their sound. Theirs is the sound of bedroom walls painted black, of fringes always being flicked away by spliff-bearing hands and of the ritual of self-enforced abject misery. It might even make you think of dusty old episodes of Top Of The Pops from the 80s that you’ve not actually seen.

Some comparisons are easy; Double Echo project the baritone drawl of Ian Curtis, the squawling, reverb-laden guitar of The Cult and the at times eerie and measured bass runs of The Fall. Is it original? Is it pastiche? Who cares? At least it’s good; a confident and assured blend that lends a certain mystique to the record. Opener Black Morning speeds away musically, but is locked into its groove by a vocal performance that jumps ahead and falls behind at will.

Without Ceremony’s beginning evokes the sound and feeling of losing your last credit on Space Invaders. The rest of the song is a breeze through dystopian hotel lobby paranoia that gets you up and exploring.

Double Echo? Not enough. You’ll be telling everyone.

EP can be downloaded for free HERE and/or streamed below.

SUPER FAST GIRLIE SHOW @ MELLO MELLO 14/12

Ever noticed that the bands who get all the hype tend to be a bit shit? Let’s take a look at what’s going down in Liverpool, where groups like Stealing Sheep and Sound Of Guns are fellated into Record Store Heaven by people who just want re-tweets and precious passes. For more worthy groups, it takes a little while to get dat honeyed recognition. Plenty of superb local groups have been readily ignored by certain sections because they might not conform to a certain standard. That’s the hipster/alt crowd for you though; all-inclusive unless it suits them.

ANYWAY, let’s talk some real business. Let’s talk about one of the more furious, not-too-serious and…whisper it…nicer bands in operation in this city. Yes, this page talks about them a fair bit, but it is difficult to deny just how good a group Super Fast Girlie Show are. This past Friday’s set at Mello Mello was another lesson in the majesty of raw, unfettered noise. Now boasting a two-pronged bass attack complemented by breakneck drumming (Pasha Coxhill, Phil Hartley and Allan Jones respectively), SFGS might not be providing that acid-jazz-rock-funk-rap-soul hybrid we all apparently crave but deliver more than enough in the sections marked SPEED and VOLUME to chew you up and spit you out.

At a lean 25 minutes, their headline slot was a testament to the great Mark E. Smith’s proverb: “If you can’t deliver it like a garage band, then fuck it.” Indeed, ol’ Fuckface, had he been in attendance, may well have offered a sly, toothless grin at the spectacle. Short, sharp schizoid blasts of songs like ‘Mind Control’, ‘Freaks’, ‘1980s (This Ain’t)’ and the wilfully weird ‘Cheese’ were cloaked in the extra-terrestrial sounds conjured up from Hartley’s sizeable pedal board. Louder Than War proffered the opinion that he came close to unlocking the infamous-cum-mythical Brown Noise. It’s difficult to disagree. Catch them while they’re hot and be sure to tip your waitress.

ANTIPOP'S FESTIVE FUCK-UP

It’s the question that has plagued mankind for aeons: ever wondered what Motorhead would sound like with TWO Lemmys? Wonder no more, weary traveller, for the monolithic Super Fast Girlie Show is the answer to that little brainbuster. Pay attention now. After the release of this year’s whip-crack of an LP, All Hooves & Cucumber, the former two-piece replaced a drummer and added a second bassist. The result is a hell of a noise that is finally starting to get them noticed. Their appearance at this coming Friday’s Antipop showcase at Mello Mello, Liverpool, will ease the transition from a great first year into one loaded with promise.

Antipop come with a simple message: “Fuck Xmas.” They’re planning to fuck it hard. Without a condom. Friday night’s show offers more than some fat guy in a red suit ever could. Revenge Of The Psychotronic Man make with the hideously too-good-to-be-true stuff. Their 2012 release, Shattered Dreams Parkway, has a fine line in odd humour, righteous anger, dust-clogged punk and tales of a life spent on the margins. This festive Pentagram O’ Piss is glued together with the cheeky Vamos and the carefree Roots To Nowhere. Sneaking in through the tunnels are Gunpowder Plot, whose bio has a nice Burroughsian tint to it. Jump aboard, flatfoots.

Doors 8pm, £4 adv&otd.

Event and ticket info HERE.

DEFTONES - KOI NO YOKAN

Deftones are reliable in many ways; a regular but not too intrusive release schedule, a slow and enjoyable evolution and forever making with the heavy stuff. Their seventh LP follows the trend of brutal noise clashing starkly with ambient atmospherics that just want to make you go a bit mad. Koi No Yokan is served well by opener ‘Swerve City’, a whirling dervish with a call-and-answer vocal chorus. It might stand as one of their all-time best tracks. Although the band will still miss the recovering Chi Cheng on bass, his replacement, Sergio Vega, has contributed more during the recording process. A fresh dynamic has allowed Deftones to further fortify both their niche and technique. Vega’s bass on ‘Poltergeist’ is a distorted reminder of the power this group can wield. Koi No Yokan is an excellent record from a group that consistently improve and refine at all times.

WIRED TO FOLLOW & THE TECHNICOLOUR SONGBOOK

Escher's perfect gig venue

Is it just me or is every band an instrumental one these days? Although not a new concept (of course), the supply and demand for the style has grown exponentially in a short space of time; the city of Liverpool is currently festooned with them and the trend shows no sign of abatement just yet. Alpha Male Tea Party, Alright The Captain, Cleft and Kusanagi are just a number of local examples. In a rapidly expanding market, you have to purport to offer something even more original. Wired To Follow, a brand new four-piece feat. Stephen Johnston of Minion TV and New Path fame, have arrived to deliver a curious and addictive take on both the concept and potential of electronic instrumental music.

Their debut single (a free download available HERE and below), ‘I Wish I Could Talk In Technicolour’, is a composition of myriad moods and ideas. Leaning upon the influence of the highly regarded Sigur Rós, Wired To Follow’s introductory announcement to the world is one that can really capture the imagination.

The instrumental genre offers room for debate on the aesthetic democratisation of modern music. With the internet having made distribution much easier, remodelling of the stage presence and public personalities has begun. Moreso at a local level (because most of the time you don’t know who they are), the anonymous blending of band members allows you focus solely on the music and their expression of it. Instead of (EXTREME EXAMPLE ALERT) “Axl Rose and Guns N’ Roses” it’s “the bassist from Mogwai.” It aids all concerned and bars distractions. There will always be a shout for Big Personalities and Arrogant Pricks, but music of the kind crafted by Wired To Follow and their ilk will only benefit from an increased sense of communisation.

NINETAILS - SLEPT AND DID NOT SLEEP (EP)

Ninetails first came to this site’s attention via EDiLS Recordings’ fourth compilation, released earlier this year. Their contribution, Social Guesswork, was the best track on the record. The song’s combination of clever wordplay, excellent production and a perfect outro was both interesting and fresh. Fast forward a relatively short time later and Ninetails are very big news. Lauded across myriad publications in Britain, they are very much in ascendancy.

There is one common element permeating all of their press; the “math-rock” tag. Writing as somebody who understands the need for genre-naming but tires of its silly complexity, the term math-rock has passed me by in a suitably erratic fashion. Having to throw an artist into a semantic prison for no editorially justified reason makes little sense. If you feel you can’t get by without having sounds spelled to you, just use your ears; it’s music.

Simply deeming Ninetails math-rock does their overall sound, approach and style a massive disservice. Slept And Did Not Sleep (SADNS) runs the gamut from ambience, fear, devil-may-care attitudes to just plain invention. The EP possesses two very strong linchpins; Rawdon Fever and Mama Aniseed. The former is a sprightly number that crams enough influences and expression into it’s 3:52 running time (shortest on the EP) to keep you guessing for a good while yet. The latter is the record’s closing track and is a beauty of a kiss-off. It judders between various speeds and rhythms, as if it never wants to finish.

Ninetails are at their best when they are most open and approachable. SADNS has plenty of that, but also has one or two moment of self-indulgence. Body Clock shows a lot of promise early on but its degeneration into a well drawn-out noise pile stands as nothing more than a big loss for the listener. A relatively young band, Ninetails can be afforded such tricks when they can back it up elsewhere.

Reviewing The Fall’s Levitate, the NME remarked that the album was “art without the wank.” Much the same can be said about Ninetails. I’ve avoided using a Cat O’ Ninetails related pun thus far, but here’s where it all dies. This intriguing four-piece are ready to lash out. Make sure you’re not tied to the mast when they do.

Slept And Did Not Sleep can be purchased via Superstar Destroyer Records HERE.