Psychic 9-5 Club
1 April 2014
Ghostly International
4 stars out of 5
Australia’s HTRK (absolutely not pronounced “hat rack”) have endured tragedy, long delays in
album releases, and moving to the other side of the world (current residence:
London) to make it to their third LP, Psychic
9-5 Club. Founding member Sean Stewart committed suicide in 2010, but
remaining members Jonnine Standish and Nigel Yang have persevered, releasing
two albums since Stewart’s death. Having abandoned the guitar-and-bass-dominated
arrangements of their early years, the surviving duo now plays minimalist and
highly emotive electronica.
“Blue Sunshine” is a good example of HTRK’s current sound:
take late ‘90s Autechre and add a bit of Tracey Thorn-ish vocals repeating two
or three phrases over and over like a mantra. “Wet Dream” is a cascade of
delayed drums and vocals, while “Love Is Distraction” and “Chinatown Style” are
slowly-unwinding minimalist meditations on the dark echoes of sounds. “The Body
You Deserve” employs unexpected spoken word sections to very unsettling effect
while the music swirls and eddies over dangerous unseen rocks and drop-offs.
Standish and Yang understand how to create some very fluid
and dynamic music out of some very simple parts. Standish’s voice adds both a
human warmth and an unreal post-societal chill to tracks which the likes of
Autechre or Mika Vainio would be proud to claim as their own. One of the more
inspiring records of the year so far.
reviewed by Richard Krueger
No comments:
Post a Comment