Tuesday, August 06, 2002
vhs or beta is my new favorite new band. since I got their debut lp, 'le funk' (on records), available in finer records stores and from bn.com, I've listened to not-that-much else. and I kept trying to find ways to explain their sound to friends, and kept having problems. disco/funk on live instruments? no, too simple. new no wave? too obscurist. so, what I can tell you is this: imagine a jam session between chic and girls against boys, with let's say steve albini producing. still with me?
see, what I've never understood that people miss with chic is it was all about live instrumentation, most notably nile rodgers' stabbing guitar licks and the late bernard edwards' throbbing bass. vob have that same kind of pushing, propelling sound driving their sound, not to mention a drummer worthy of a spot in james brown's band. their effects are almost entirely done with pedals, and the occasional processor on the vocals. the chic influence is quite strong, except when they get a little post-punk on your ass (i.e. gvsb, and I also hear a lot of big black/rapeman in their melting pot, that kind of stutter-stop rhythm, the harsher guitar patterns). 'le funk' also includes 2 live cuts, which show that they can cut it even better on the stage. there's so much tension in their compositions, all ebb-and-flow, rising to an inevitable, orgasmic, discotastic climax every damn time.
see, what I've never understood that people miss with chic is it was all about live instrumentation, most notably nile rodgers' stabbing guitar licks and the late bernard edwards' throbbing bass. vob have that same kind of pushing, propelling sound driving their sound, not to mention a drummer worthy of a spot in james brown's band. their effects are almost entirely done with pedals, and the occasional processor on the vocals. the chic influence is quite strong, except when they get a little post-punk on your ass (i.e. gvsb, and I also hear a lot of big black/rapeman in their melting pot, that kind of stutter-stop rhythm, the harsher guitar patterns). 'le funk' also includes 2 live cuts, which show that they can cut it even better on the stage. there's so much tension in their compositions, all ebb-and-flow, rising to an inevitable, orgasmic, discotastic climax every damn time.
# posted by Thomas : 1:19 PM
