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buy + track list |
ANGIE REED - XYZ FREQUENCY (CHICKS ON SPEED) |
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The quirky "XYZ Frequency" starts out with a sort of
glitchtronica/pop rock minimalist tune called "Hustle
a Hustler" that's actually a bit catchy if not
entirely accessible. It's followed up with a more
organic tune (the audio sounds roughly like acoustic
guitar and a woodwind with some electronic elements
thrown in but I don't know what's actually organic and
what's synthed), "Dancing Tarantella to a Machine Gun"
- but then it slams over into Beepy Electronic Oddity
Land. "Dings Dums Bumst Dings Da" draws heavily from
punk rock and new wave in a deliberately lo-fi cut
that is actually weirdly cool. "Longest Days in
Summertime" sounds like surf rock channeled through
Reed's strange aesthetic and "Disco Telefonind" is a
surprisingly serious and machiney bit of light but
dark and spartan beat-touched techno plus guitar
experimentation. "Ma Cherie, Marjerie" is sort of
goa-ish but run through that Reed filter with some
techy groove afoot. "Geistexblitz" is a rather twisted
slice of electronic texture-song and "Bend the Truth
in the Confession Booth" is moderately and
(relatively) more normal. Sort of. It makes me think
of someone with bongos, chanting, a la Angie Reed,
with electronic roots. After she ate Blondie right
after Blondie performed "Rapture." The Beck-ish "NLP
the Galaxy" is, well Beck-ish. What else can I say?
"XYZ Frequency" is more upbeat with a groovy beat and
distortion fuzzing over the percussive minimalism and
computer melodies. Hip-hoppish considerations bent
through the Angie prism pop up on "Gold Chained
Leopard of the Ghetto" and "U.F.O. A-Go-Go" is a
glitchy ode to them things in the sky. Spooky is the
word on "Cherry Blossom"; "Mistress of Grand Guignol"
carries the listener back to slight normalness (for
what that means in the Reed world). "Yes, We Know!" is
EXTREMELY glitchy and that's all I'm going to say. "Ba
Boon of the Loom" is kind of trippy and beatboxy and a
bit silly and, finally there's the Eric D. Clark remix
of "Hustle a Hustler." While every song here exhibits
its own personality I can say that if you like one of
these tracks, chances are you'll like them all. I
think Reed is an accomplished songwriter with a
subversive aesthetic but her music isn't entirely
accessible to just anybody. This will click with you
or it won't, though if it doesn't, some of you will
still be able to appreciate what she's done, even if
it's not entirely palatable personally.-- review by Kristofer Upjohn
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