Street Horrrsing, by Fuck Buttons (Double LP on ATP)

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This record left Simon Franklin feeling ecstatic.

This is a magnificent beast of an record. Fuck Buttons have produced an album of such sonic genius, it takes drone rock to a new higher level, and anyone who drafts in members of Mogwai, Part Chimp and Shellac to help them out has got to be worth a listen. But don’t be fooled by the opening tinkly chords of track one, "Sweet Love For Planet Earth". It quickly grows decidedly darker as distortion moves in and takes over. It’s like "Tubular Bells" as if composed in Hell!

The side long "Okay, Let’s Talk About Magic" is where the noise really dominates. It’s a mighty drone under which an almost feeble organ struggles to be heard. It’s akin to Spacemen 3 playing alongside an industrial lathe, whilst indistinguishable gnarled vocals, à la Rancid Hell Spawn join in. "Bright Tomorrow" sounds like Daft Punk having a fight in a junkyard. These are just a few of the treats in store. If you feel that music is far too important to be left to idiot’s like the Kooks, then you owe to yourself to get this record. Mojo magazine made it Underground Album of the Month. They are wrong. "Street Horrrsing" is Underground Album of the Year.

Review date: 15 April 2008

This record left our BRIAN D feeling ecstatic.

Well the minute we heard 'Street Horrrsing' by Fuck Buttons, my spine started dissolving and I felt neurons sparking in my head. Along with the wonderful Holy Fuck, my current space rock faves, this prog noise duo from the UK have just earned themselves AOTW without even having to try. I'm nearly crying as i listen to opener 'Sweet Love for Planet Earth' this morning. Opening with a collossal wave of juddering UFO fuzz hovering over you like it's the Independence Day of alternative music whilst the most beautiful, lilting ambient keyboard twinkles & shimmers underneath. Then it morphs into this kind of gibbering organic tribal mantra, wild & percussive, like Animal Collective being held hostage on the random throw of a Black Dice. Next you get another wave of stunning digital noise stabbing you in the most profound way, kind of soothing in it's feedbacking repetitive way whilst all manner of distorted vocal manipulation yells at you underneath. It's like a cyber Wolf Eyes, some of the horror replaced with utter sonic wonder as this huge sound envelopes you, threatening to consume but you feel relaxed rather than remotely threatened. This is essentially a noise album but one that any lovers of intelligent post-rock should be able to handle. I think the sweet, melancholy moog sounds underneath are there to distract you from all the waves of static, distorto yelling & gorgeous white noise. There's even some banging, hypnotic techno shades straddling 'Bright Tomorrow', underlaid with the most delightful Kraftwerkian keyboards. Total wistful Autobahn music! It all lends this strange group an air of stately reverence in a world where music is either too sterile or sometimes too aggressive in it's quest for bending sonic boundaries. A beautiful fence sitter, perched in the middle, glowing & growing. Think this is on 2xLP & CD through the esteemable ATP. Absolutely fantastic, if you buy one record this week, INSIST ON THIS!

Street Horrrsing by Fuck Buttons (CD, £7.79)