One record at a time: 400. Simian Mobile Disco - Attack Decay Sustain Release

After coming across a positive review of "Attack Decay Sustain Release" in Q magazine, I felt compelled to purchase the CD. There seemed to be a lack of fresh electronic music at that time and the description of Simian Mobile Disco's debut was very promising. As it turned out, I loved the album from the first moment I heard it and I played it continuously during the summer of 2007.

Fast forward seven years and I decided to purchase the vinyl to compliment my growing collection. Looking at the invoice on amazon.co.uk I can see this LP cost me £16.82 which seems like an extraordinary price and makes me a little depressed when I realise I have become accustomed to paying almost double this for even the most mundane vinyl release today.

Anyway, when it arrived I found this record was actually the version released in the USA by Intersope records. I have a suspicion Amazon were selling lots of imports around this time as I unexpectedly received the American versions of a couple of other albums I ordered from them in 2014.

There are some significant differences between this American disc and its British counterpart. The American version features an extra track titled "Clock" and the song "Hustler" is censored with all uses of "the F word" muted out. The British version came with a patterned bag to hold the record but my copy has a simple poly lined inner. Sonically it's not a fantastic pressing, but it does the job.

The record opens with the wonderfully relentless pounding of "Sleep Deprivation" which sounds like a club night condensed down into five minutes. There are lots of nods to electro influences in "It's the beat" and "Tits and Acid" but the wonderful melodies on tracks like "Wooden" point to a talent that far exceeds one genre.

Whilst I loved everything on this record at one time, I'm not too impressed by some of it today. The vocals of "Hustler" are tedious and seem to paint a picture of a man who blames his father for turning him into a foul mouthed shoplifter. "Love" has some nice disco tinged bass guitar, but the vocals are so repetitive they begin to irritate me a little. "Scott" is a nice improvised interlude but is nothing more than album filler.

The highlight here is the wonderful single "I Believe" which features the vocals of Simon Lord. Whilst much slower in tempo, this song is fiercely electronic and thumps along in a shower of staccato synths and rumbling basslines. Thanks to the bonus track "Clocks" we finish on a melodic high that you may miss on other pressings. 4/5

Simian Mobile Disco do it again

Never has the phrase "Throw the baby out with the dish water" been so aptly displayed than in the recent output of Simian Mobile Disco. 

OK I get the whole 'change of direction' mid career crisis their extensive DJ sets have brought about; but why forget the tunes? The first two albums we full of cutting edge electronica coupled with slightly more pop orientated vocal work that made for a varied and entertaining package. 

This new album 'Unpatterns' is another techno driven dirge that doesn't really go anywhere. Like last years 'Delicacies' offering, this new album lacks the innovation of Underworld and has none of the melody of The Chemical Brothers work. This album's focus is so tightly set on the dance floor that its entertainment value is somewhat limited. Don't get me wrong, I love listening to dance music in all kinds of environments, just not dull boring dance music.

What is going on?

What is going on? In the middle of last year we were led to believe that Royksopp's new album "Senior" would be the stunning but quiet and introspective counterpoint to the dance pop of "Junior" only to find it was a distinctly underwhelming experience.

Now another major mover in the world of electronic music has fallen from my grace in a more spectacular fashion. With the release of "Delicacies" Simian Mobile Disco seem to have circumvented any quality control and just released their demo's and called it a new album. As one of my friends said of the album recently: "Where are the tunes?"

"Delicacies" seems to have followed "Temporary Pleasure" after an indecently short period of time and alarm bells began to ring when the release schedule included a mixed version of the album as if it was easily reduced to a DJ set; not exactly a marker of quality in my book. Whilst Royksopp's "Senior" was at least well produced and original, "Delicacies" sounds like a flick through the demo's of any other Sounclick bound bedroom failure (this includes myself you understand).

I think my reason for disliking this album are more intense as I loved "Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release" and "Temporary Pleasure" showed some promise for the future. We all knew this new album was going to be "techno based" but hell, we didn't realise there were to be no tunes. Writing songs with a good groove is one thing, but writing them with a good tune has always been quite another.

"Delicacies" is one of those albums that is produced by a band who have lost direction. Self indulgent, uninteresting and repetitive; "Delicacies" is one dish I can happily refuse.

Don't belive the reviews. or me.......

Reviews. Do they mean anything? Can you actually judge anything by the opinion of others on something as subjective as music? I no longer think you can.

Reading reviews has helped me discover some great music in the past. Albums such as “Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release” by Simian Mobile Disco and “Happiness” by Hurts were completely unknown to me until I read favourable reviews and decided to purchase them. There have been multiple times when music has been recommended to me and I have loved it. I now begin to wonder how many times I have missed out on hidden gems by reading negative comments.

 

These thoughts have come into my head because of the Underworld album “Barking”. Underworld are one of a few bands that I like but do not necessarily buy everything they release and their last two albums left me decidedly under whelmed. So, on deciding whether to buy “Barking”, I read a few reviews first. Admittedly I started in one of the worst places possible: Amazon. These are a few comments that struck me immediately:

Former creative giants lose their way – 1/5

Oh No! This is just not good – 2/5

I don’t know what to say to this – 2/5

Underwhelming underworld – 2/5

Meow, to me it seems such a lame collection of lightweight pieces with no real substance or elegance -1/5

Worst underworld album easily! – 1/5

Bore to the floor – 2/5

Thus, I immediately moved on to something else. A few days later I decided to google for some more opinions on “Barking”. I found some real contradictions to the notorious amazon reviews:

“this is the sound of musicians with nothing to prove and everything to give” BBC
“Barking, then, is a return to form not because it's the best album Karl Hyde and Rick Smith have put out in a while (and it is), but because this record sees the duo returning to the more beat-intensive, complicatedly beatific realm of everything from "Pearl's Girl" to "Two Months Off." RA Reviews

Hell, I thought. I’m ordering it and will make up my own mind. I am so glad I did. The naysayers are simply wrong. This is a rejuvenated Underworld, and Underworld who have found their mojo, their best album since “secondtoughestintheinfants”.

But don’t take my word for it.

Simian Mobile Disco come up trumps

Having bought their first album on the back of a review that suggested electronic excellence, I have always trusted Simian Mobile Disco to deliver on their promises. 2007’s “Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release” was my record of the summer and will, in time, be regarded as a classic I’m sure. 

Thus, their second effort “Temporary Pleasure” is highly anticipated. Kicking off with the pulsating “Cream Dream” featuring vocals by Super Furry Animals front man Gruff Rhys, this album is set to become a dance floor favourite. 

Yet, unlike similar dance orientate efforts, this album has depth and is a considered endeavour. Catchy pop/dance cross over single “Audacity of Huge” is followed by trance like anthem “10,000 Horses Can’t Be Wrong”. The Italio house influenced “Cruel Intention” displays Shaw and Fords diversity and talent for crafting a groove. “Off the Map” and “Synthesise” are balls out dance tracks that deliver the four-on-the-floor kicks demanded by the dance floor. “Bad Blood” features Hot Chip vocalist Alexis Taylor in what strikes you as an obvious and satisfying collaboration, more should follow this if there is any justice. 

The only poor tracks are “Turn Up The Dial” and the final cut “Pinball”.  Whilst I acknowledge that “Pinball” is an attempt to balance against the heavy dance sound of the rest of the album, it just ends up sounding out of place. In addition, the track is just terrible in my opinion. Nevertheless, despite a poor ending, “Temporary Pleasure” is set to become less ephemeral than the title might suggest. Simian Mobile Disco seem to be generating quite a following both on and off the dance floor. All lovers of good electronic music should rejoice that bands as good as this keep making music.