These New Puritans
Pyramid Beat
Angular
Jesus H Corbett! Being one of the older Chimps I sometimes despair at the youth of today - you know, frittering their boundless energy away by looking sullen and playing shitwad music out of inadequate speaker phones. Makes me wonder why anyone bothered making decent music for the last 50 years if no-one under the age of 20 can be arsed to put in a bit of research and hard work themselves. Hurrah! Step forward These New Puritans, whose first full-length album blew me out of my own (very) late teenage gloom. Thank fuck.
At last someone seems to have got it - drawing equally from genuine underground dance music, noise rock, B-boy darkness and the very best of post-punk, this album crackles with a kind of confidence which belies the band's tender years. The chunkiest tracks come up front, stamping a large footprint of intent all over your thoughtbox. The influences are all good ones - Gang of Four, Wire, Industrial, The Fall, Dark Hip Hop, Underground Electro - and if that all seems a bit to contrived then I'm not doing them any justice, because this to me is the greatest testament to a well-spent youth.... ie, years spent listening to and absorbing brilliant records, no matter who made those records or what everyone else was listening to, then getting off yer arse/face and making something that lives up to your own high standards. Brilliant.
Of course some bits are better than others, but it is all good. Great lyrics too, and lots of thought gone into the use of samplers and sounds. Anyway, next time someone tries to play you any records by "the streets" take the following steps. One, tell them to fuck off. Two, if they have not complied with your request, play them this record.
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25th Jan 2008 - Tumblr
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