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Review: |
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Unconfirmed Reports is the new release from a Japan-based Scot, Paul Thomsen Kirk, who released the rather good Trace Elements album on Colin Newman's Swim label some years ago. And like Trace Elements, Unconfirmed Reports is another fine release. It's somewhat dark and dense at times with Dome and 23 Skidoo being a couple of names that come to mind. The opening track, Friend For Hire, sounds particularly foreboding. The clouds have gathered, the sky is grey, and the rain has just started and you just know that something bad is going to happen.
Other highlights include Blood Orange with its almost Banging The Door-like beat, the nightmarish Portable Pariah, and Tondo, which features a simple, deeper-than-deep bass riff popping in from time to time over a clattery beat. Anyone who likes 23 Skidoo should love this one.
Best of all for me, however, is the rather funky SSRI. It's one of the tracks featured on the Akatombo MySpace page, which is perhaps something of a red herring seeing as its very soundtracky in a Barry Adamson way. Still, regardless of whether it's typical of the album or not, it's one of the best things I've heard this year.
Unconfirmed Reports closes with A Prior Disengagement which is like some fabulous cross between Rose Royce's classic Is It Love Your After intro and The Shining. Indeed, there are some, let's be frank, disturbing moments here and there, and with its emphasis on percussion, it's pretty much relentless throughout. But if that's how you like things...well, fill your boots! |
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