The Experimental Pop Band - 'The Tracksuit Trilogy' (City Slang)
4/5
By: Toby L
Being called The Experimental Pop Band can put you in a testing predicament - are they really that different to anyone else? Luckily enough, yes, they are different to everyone else. But is that a good thing..?
Being so radically different could alienate you from your potential audience; playing in a band that's too alternative may mean detachment from critics; and existing in such a unit which isn't commercial enough can mean small sales figures. But, if you were involved in this band, would you actually care? Well, the evidence is on this record, so push play and sit back.
Opener 'Bang Bang You're Dead' admittedly sounds like a good beginning to scare away fans, but after hearing it, the track serves to baffle and intrigue as much as it eases and hypnotises, welcoming the listener into a jazzy, zombie-like state, with its chiming, bold piano and rough 'n' ready vocals. However, two and a half minutes in, it all becomes very scary indeed, fusing into a mindwarp of keyboard FX. Those seeking ambience in the next track are shown the door, because disco rip-off 'Emotion' is anything but the such, offering the head-scratching line, 'When Madonna's on the stereo/We're dancing cheek to cheek' as well as Bloodhound Gang-'Bad Touch' beat.
However, it's not always frantic: the backing keyboards in 'Narcotic Days' go on to seduce and swell us into the state of the song's title. But, it can't last long, with the chaotic rhythmic tempo of 'Hard Enough', its intro reminiscent of early Super Furry Animals singles. But, after almost forty minutes of a mish-mash of bizarre styles and genius diversity, it closes with the classical sample-led, 'Thank you for listening to our songs/Thank you to all our friends/But now the music must end/I hope we'll meet you again' ('When The Music Ends'). It seems a surreal, but - because of this group's madness - fitting end.
In itself, 'The Tracksuit Trilogy' is an inspiration to up and coming artists that want to be deemed the almost non-existent term 'original'. Repetitive and infectious guitar hooks; Beck-like digital noises; a sound as electronic as instrumental; bemusing, puzzling lyrics; Bernard Sumner-esque vocals in the sense that the voice is spoken, but melodic; two weeks' recording time; enchanting instrumentals. That's the closest you can get to describing what this album represents.
EPB combine the trademark dance sound effects of their native Bristol with the music others have yet to create. The trippy sway-along 'Somethingsaremoreimportantthanmusic' has an interesting title, but when you're treated to a sound as eclectic and courageous as this, you know the sentiments to its name aren't true when you hear them play.
Artists in this article: The Experimental Pop Band
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