Thirty Part Five
10 Phones, Sharpen The Knives.
We have a bit of a history with Paul Epworth. Not in as much as, y'know, we used to go to the same school or anything. Just that we've never really known how to take him. At first we liked him, connections to Bloc Party and The Futureheads (back when they were good). Then we realised we weren't so keen - other than Hounds Of Love, his remixes tended to be a little switch flicky (i.e. he has a button on his laptop that turns a song into a Phones Disco Re-Edit). So we went off him. Remixing is a big deal here. We wanted to like him, though, cuz Phones is a good name ('though Epic Man is a shit name) which is why is was such a pleasant surprise that Sharpen The Knives is a fucking monster of carcrash messy dance. With a name like Sharpen The Knives we were always gonna have the propensity to like it but this is so far from the bog standard disco synth of most of Phones' remixes and is cutty and caustic like something by Mr Oizo or Justice. Looks like we could be getting good things from the boy this year.
09 MSTRKRFT, She's Good For Business.
So. MSTRKRFT helped shift our gear last year (no rhyme intended) and move us into the world of dancefloors proper. Along with a few others it's true but they were very instrumental. Which is why it was so good, just as their remixes were going a bit downhill, that their solo album was such an absolute cast iron success. She's Good For Business is one of the half dozen vocal tracks on this pop slut disco dance Daft Punk vs Erol Alkan that only took us one listen to realise we were listening to something special.
08 Simian Mobile Disco, Tits & Acid.
If there is an artist for us who has pretty much defined the second half of this year, it's Simian Mobile Disco. We raped Hustler until we didn't think we could possibly like it any more. We scoured the earth and ate up their remixes like golddust ambrosia. They could do no wrong. So, it's fitting their last release of 2007 - the utter behemoth that is Tits & Acid be in the last top ten of 2006 (which is what this technically is, except it got deleted yesterday, the bastard). It squelches, it bleeps, it bumps, it builds, it grinds, it switches, it's got everything and it leaves in a taxi the next morning without waking up your parents. If you didn't know how filthy it was you'd want to marry it.
07 Shut Your Eyes And You'll Burst Into Flames, Drop The Decade.
Amputee Smile wasn't one of our favourite songs from Dance To The Radio but my word, this slice of ultra hooky ¡Forward, Russian! post punk is an absolute revelation of scratches, beats and riot disco mayhem. It has its foibles, there are a few gay breakdowns but overall, it gets so, so much right it's a little cheeky of us to sit around and criticise. It might not have been at seven if this really was a Best Of The Last Two Months but it's been bummed to death the last week or so in this building so it's flying high.
06 The Rapture, Whoo Alright Yeah Uh Huh (Simian Mobile Disco Remix).
The Rapture aren't one of our favourite bands any more, after being a top ten affair pre-Echoes. However, their latest album we're assured is good and while the first single from it was weak as teabagless tea, Whoo Alright Yeah Uh Huh has good moments and points to Paul Epworth's continued rise to our favour. All that is by the by, though, because it's Simian Mobiled Disco who make this into An Absolute Tune. Like. A proper full on banger of an affair. It's sleazy and acid-tinged, takes the best bits of the original and completely reconstructs them (in the way we utterly adore Simian Mobile Disco for) into a spacey slut wave monster that manages to punish a dancefloor without just piling on the bass or beats.
We have a bit of a history with Paul Epworth. Not in as much as, y'know, we used to go to the same school or anything. Just that we've never really known how to take him. At first we liked him, connections to Bloc Party and The Futureheads (back when they were good). Then we realised we weren't so keen - other than Hounds Of Love, his remixes tended to be a little switch flicky (i.e. he has a button on his laptop that turns a song into a Phones Disco Re-Edit). So we went off him. Remixing is a big deal here. We wanted to like him, though, cuz Phones is a good name ('though Epic Man is a shit name) which is why is was such a pleasant surprise that Sharpen The Knives is a fucking monster of carcrash messy dance. With a name like Sharpen The Knives we were always gonna have the propensity to like it but this is so far from the bog standard disco synth of most of Phones' remixes and is cutty and caustic like something by Mr Oizo or Justice. Looks like we could be getting good things from the boy this year.
09 MSTRKRFT, She's Good For Business.
So. MSTRKRFT helped shift our gear last year (no rhyme intended) and move us into the world of dancefloors proper. Along with a few others it's true but they were very instrumental. Which is why it was so good, just as their remixes were going a bit downhill, that their solo album was such an absolute cast iron success. She's Good For Business is one of the half dozen vocal tracks on this pop slut disco dance Daft Punk vs Erol Alkan that only took us one listen to realise we were listening to something special.
08 Simian Mobile Disco, Tits & Acid.
If there is an artist for us who has pretty much defined the second half of this year, it's Simian Mobile Disco. We raped Hustler until we didn't think we could possibly like it any more. We scoured the earth and ate up their remixes like golddust ambrosia. They could do no wrong. So, it's fitting their last release of 2007 - the utter behemoth that is Tits & Acid be in the last top ten of 2006 (which is what this technically is, except it got deleted yesterday, the bastard). It squelches, it bleeps, it bumps, it builds, it grinds, it switches, it's got everything and it leaves in a taxi the next morning without waking up your parents. If you didn't know how filthy it was you'd want to marry it.
07 Shut Your Eyes And You'll Burst Into Flames, Drop The Decade.
Amputee Smile wasn't one of our favourite songs from Dance To The Radio but my word, this slice of ultra hooky ¡Forward, Russian! post punk is an absolute revelation of scratches, beats and riot disco mayhem. It has its foibles, there are a few gay breakdowns but overall, it gets so, so much right it's a little cheeky of us to sit around and criticise. It might not have been at seven if this really was a Best Of The Last Two Months but it's been bummed to death the last week or so in this building so it's flying high.
06 The Rapture, Whoo Alright Yeah Uh Huh (Simian Mobile Disco Remix).
The Rapture aren't one of our favourite bands any more, after being a top ten affair pre-Echoes. However, their latest album we're assured is good and while the first single from it was weak as teabagless tea, Whoo Alright Yeah Uh Huh has good moments and points to Paul Epworth's continued rise to our favour. All that is by the by, though, because it's Simian Mobiled Disco who make this into An Absolute Tune. Like. A proper full on banger of an affair. It's sleazy and acid-tinged, takes the best bits of the original and completely reconstructs them (in the way we utterly adore Simian Mobile Disco for) into a spacey slut wave monster that manages to punish a dancefloor without just piling on the bass or beats.