Fuck Buttons - Surf Solar

I went and watched Fuck Buttons last night performing an in-store set at Rought Trade East.

A couple of points;

1. Why do I always get the tallest, biggest-and-smelliest-haired, head-bopping freak in the room standing right in front of me? About one minute before Fuck Buttons were due on I thought I was sitting pretty, and then this lanky great loser pushes in front of me (remember, we're in a record store, and despite the gig status you just don't expect this kind of jostling. Would you stand for that kind of behaviour at the Pick 'N' Mix in Woolworths?) and starts bopping his head all over the shop, continuing threatening to stick his filthy mop in my face with every swing. Most disconcerting. It's not even as though he was so taken with the music that he couldn't control himself; he kept stopping every minute or so to take a look around and check who was watching him and look at his mobile phone. What a cunt. "Oh, I can't possibly enjoy myself watching live music if I'm further than 3 metres from the stage, which is why I have to barge my way in and ponce about like I'm in Ibiza on a pills-and-cock binge."

2. IT WAS JUST WAY TOO LOUD. I know I am grumpier and olde-before-my time than most, but I still want to be going to gigs and listening to music when I'm 50, and this sort of din can do some serious damage. Uncomfortable.

Other than that the show was fine. There has been a lot of rhetoric put out there, mostly by ATP, about Fuck Buttons, which to me just doesn't ring true. Highlight of the set, 'Bright Tomorrow' is a fantastic track, building up swathes of vintage electronic sound to its glorious, screaming finale, but almost all the rest of their material last night seemed like a pale imitation of this song. Fuck Buttons are just too formulaic to hold my interest over the course of half an hour.

Of course, I couldn't resist picking up their new 7" with all its picture-disc goodness, even if the £4.99 price tag for two tracks seems a little hefty.

The A side is a 7" edit of 'Surf Solar' and is the first track taken from upcoming album Tarot Sport produced by Andrew Weatherall, whose name for some reason, I always confuse with Andrew Ridgeley. I'm not sure what Ridgeley is up to these days, but is it so hard to imagine him as the fat-cat producer of cutting edge indie/electro acts whilst George does community service and spunks up walls?

So, 'Surf Solar' follows the familiar pattern of being kind of interesting with some exciting sounds and textures, but never quite soars as high as 'Bright Tomorrow', nor reaches any kind of satisfying conclusion. I am hoping that it is merely the time constraints of the 7" format that have neutered this track and that the 10min-plus album version will be a revelation.

What do I like most about a new 7" single? A lovely bit of non-album sounds on the B-side. Here we have 'New Crossbow' which has a kind of non-intrusive tribally beat behind it, with a whooping, swooping sound and lots of glimmering, sparkling bits, and kind of meanders on its way to nowhere in particular for a few minutes. Quite nice, and a bit more interesting that the A-side, but I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to it.

The brilliant artwork comes from Benjamin John Power who may or may not be responsible for mid-to-late 90s British shitstorm of arse-drippings, Cast.

Tarot Sport is out next Monday 12th October.

Deerhoof - The Perfect Me

Cool! A picture disc. Let’s take this out of the sleeve and give it a OHMYGODWHATTHEFUCKISTHAT!? Is it the famed ‘Beast with Two Backs’ that everyone at uni spoke of seeing at parties, while I was staying in and alphabeticising my CD collection? Whatever it is, ATP and Deerhoof went to great lengths to ensure the strengths of the picture disc format were fully exploited by asking the awesome David Shrigley to provide the artwork. Deerhoof have a history of working with cutting edge illustrators (teaming with Ken Kagami during the Milk Man period and, more recently, Tomoo Gokita for 2008’s Offend Maggie) and roped in Shrigley to create the Friend Opportunity artwork (of which there are apparently twelve variations on the cover sleeve).



‘The Perfect Me’ was the first taste of that album and displayed the poptastic heights Friend Opportunity would scale. Although instantly catchy and memorable, there is enough off-kilter stuff going on to keep you coming back play after play. The angular guitar squall and free improvisation of their earliest releases have all but been eradicated, replaced with keyboards, Satomi’s endearing childlike vocals and an emphasis on melody. However, bat-shit crazy drummer Greg Saunier brings spasmodic rhythms and there are more time-signature shifts than you can shake a metronome at. Throw in some satisfyingly crunchy guitar playing and you have something that is certainly not your ordinary pop song. It’s as if there about five songs all in one here, though not in a ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ kind of way – it’s all going on at once, which is probably what makes the song so exciting. Overall, the whole thing is just a gloriously free-willed, spirited, uplifting, unique and downright fun track to listen to.



What with this single coming out at the tail end of 2006, the B-side is the semi-seasonal ‘The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill Continuing into The Little Drummer Boy.’ Having gushed all over the A-side, I couldn’t wait to hear a similar treatment of The Beatles’ ‘Bungalow Bill,’ but as with many Deerhoof covers I was left a little disappointed. Deerhoof exercise their more experimental sensibilities and produce a fairly sparse and strangely calypso-flavoured version. Quite nice, but somewhat slight. The same can be said of ‘The Little Drummer Boy,’ which is a fairly faithful rendition, all sweet and twinkly and chiming; but it’s over almost as soon as it begins.

Well, there were only 350 copies of this released, so if you want one it’ll probably cost you a pretty penny now. Personally, I’d recommend saving the money and getting yourself a copy of Friend Opportunity and The Beatles’ White Album instead!