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I'm a sucker for 7" records, and when i find a cheap one that looks interesting, i'll pick it up. For under five bucks, how can you go wrong? And, sometimes, you get something genuinely interesting.
Take The Cyderbunny for example. I can't really find any information on this band on the Internet, and all that is on the record itself is a band address in Bedford UK and a label address in Oklahoma City. What a strange combination. Anyway, the music this band makes is ... well, i guess i'd call it abstract collage music, although even using the term "music" might be too much for some people. Perhaps it would help if i went through the five pieces on this disc.
The A side starts out with the song Radio KAKA, which plays as if you were flipping through stations on the radio. There are snippets that are read as mock news broadcasts, some great tunage (the band apparently can play like a Nirvana clone when they want to, and of course the theme from "Radio KAKA" is sung to the tune of the old Queen classic Radio Gaga), some "easy listening" music sung mockingly, etc. It's about 4 minutes of just strange listening. The second song is called Bacteria and this is more of an industrial piece. The music is very distorted and bass heavy, and strange R2D2 sounds pop in and out, along with samples of sarcastic English persons speaking (one voice goes on and on about his record collection -- Joy Division, Chameleons, etc -- then asks, "Why am i even on this Earth?"). Strange.
The B side is no more sensical. The first song here is called Potaters and features distorted guitar and sped-up singing, so that it sounds like the Chipmunks after they took the bad acid at Woodstock. The song lasts about a minute, and then Cyderbunny hit us with Untitled, which starts with a great post-punk guitar riff, all trebly and arpeggioed. Then the rest of the band kicks in, and this sounds like a dark, thunderous goth/industrial club tune, played slightly too slow. The rhythm chugs along and the male voice here sounds kind of like the voice in Shriekback. The middle of the song features chugging metalish guitars and a voice speaking in what sounds like German played backwards, which is really eerie sounding. Finally, The Cyderbunny end with Fade Out, which is a catchy little surf pop ditty played through a serious amount of distortion, making it sound vaguely tinny and fuzzy. Very nice, but again it lasts only a minute or so.
On the whole, well, this is a strange little EP, but i like it. The Cyderbunny appear to be doing some interesting things, and i wish them the best of luck. This isn't the type of thing i can listen to all of the time, but, every once in a while, it's a welcome change. At the very least, the band are trying to do something different, and they do it well. When you listen to as much as i do (between the promos and my own obsessive collector disease), finding someone doing something different that is an interesting listen is a good find. I applaud the band for what they do, and i will be on the lookout for more from this act.
However, well, this music is challenging, and i think that a lot of casual listeners will be put off by the strangeness of it. Still, if you are looking for something a little challenging, then give The Cyderbunny a chance.
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