And so it begins, 60 albums in 60 days, and to truly embrace the spirit of the adventure, the first offering is from a band that I know absolutely nothing about.
Crystal Fighters' debut album Star of Love is, well, a bit odd. The band aren't to be confused with Crystal Castles, nor are they anything like the Foo Fighters, but I suppose if you were to combine the two then, no, I don't think I've ever heard anything quite like this before, and am still unsure as to whether I think that is a good or bad thing...
The album kicks off with an audio attack on the senses in the form of Solar System. It wouldn't be out of place in the kind of club that I haven't been in since I was 18, and certainly isn't in keeping with my recent musical tastes, but that's not to say that I don't like it. It grabs your attention with its pulsating electro bassline, although to presume that we were about to tuck into a record of similar tunes couldn't be further from the truth. This could be labelled as many things, and I suppose a record company blurb would come up with 'eclectic'. I'd probably veer more towards schizophrenic, bordering on fully blown psychotic, but for all its twists and turns, it somehow works.
Moving into the following song, delicate Spanish guitars are quickly replaced by a bassline that the kids would call 'phat', and the repetitive lyrics keep your attention for absolutely no reason. The distant sounding vocals somehow compliment the bass nicely, and again, I'm left wondering how, and why I like this music.
Things do, however, get even stranger from here on in. Everyday is again fillled with an electro beat, but seems to have some grunge guitar riff built in, with a distressed vocal over the top. The relentlessness of the first couple of tracks hasn't calmed down in the slightest by now, but it will, soon enough.
If you visit Rachel's blog on the same album (and I sincerely hope that you do, these are running in tandom, get yourself over there, she is, in my eyes, a much more enjoyable read) then she mentions the song Plage. It's an odd one indeed, and as she says, doesn't sound like it should even be on the same album. It's summer in a song - "Do you want to go to the plage with me" - and probably the most enjoyable song on here, which begs the question as to why the rest of the tracks have to be so crazy, when the band are perfectly cabable of making such good songs. But there you go, they have a record deal, and I'm sat on my sofa.
At Home is another cracking song, big vocals and fun sounds, but is totally let down by I Love London, which may be the worst song I've ever heard. If a track was ever created specifically for clubbing types 'darn sarf', then this is it. Can I see huge groups of drug-addled partygoers loving this and cheering everytime she claims to love their city? Yes. Would I ever like to hear this song again? No. It's, in a word, shite.
The rest of the album throws up variations on the above songs. I've listened to this all the way through three times now and the problem is, I just don't know how to feel about it. I could gush on and on about a brilliant album (just wait until we reach Elbow), and I'm even more at home ripping into something that I don't like, but with this I honestly have no idea. It could offend my musical senses, but it doesn't quite manage it, and at the same time, when I find myself quite liking it, I can't see me putting it on again in the future.
So there you have it, one done, and absolutely no opinions offered. Bet you're glad you read all the way to the end, yes? I promise it will be a better read in the future ;)
Oh, and Rachel's blog, get yourself there now please. Thanks
http://rachel-blog-a-ball.blogspot.com/2011/04/day-1-crystal-fighters-star-of-love.html #glasto60daychallenge
If, by any chance anyone wants to get in touch, leave some comments, or catch me on Twitter @daninfrance - or Rachel @Rachel_Ball ... just make sure you use the hasgtag #glasto60daychallenge
One down, 59 to go. Onwards and upwards kiddies.
I like! 'They have a record deal, and I'm sat on my sofa' made me do an actual lol.
ReplyDelete