Coming from Lymington are Continental Liaison with their brand of 80’s Electro/Punk.
Now this ticks a number of boxes for this reviewer; it is not necessarily the easiest of sounds to get to grips with, as the distorted synths weave themselves into your brain. But it harks back to a time of experimentation when electronic music was just coming out of it’s infancy.
Opening with “Series Of Events” you are faced with a fast paced electronic on-slaught. With plenty of fuzz in the backdrop, the vocals are belted out over the fast tempo. Coming in at just over 2 minutes it feels over almost as soon as it begins.
From here the EP takes a downturn in tempo, dare I say aggression. With a sound that seems to be somewhere between Cabaret Voltaire and Joy Division you are given bleak imagery as the vocals come across unemotional. “Future” starts off a little friendlier, but the vocals are again distant to the music, adding to that feel of despair. The music is almost cold as the distortion sits on top of the drum machine, with only a hint of electronic rhythm battling against this distorted overlay. This gives everything a feel of importance.
Closing with “Hypercompression” the feel of early electronic electronic experimentation continues, the lo-fi fuzz, the clean automated tempo, and the vocals possessing that disassociated feel. This closing track reminds me of early Human League, specifically “Travelogue”.
To quote themselves; “as is often the case it starts in a pub”. 3 friends discuss their dissatisfaction with the unreliability of musicians. They decide to form an outlet for their frustration replacing humans with friendly machines wherever possible. I ask, are the machines that friendly?
There is something almost pure about this EP. Perhaps something you would find on an early industrial compilation, or late night radio show for the eclectic and up and coming.
I fond this EP refreshing, and I look forward to hearing more from these guys.
A 7″ vinyl is released next month. The vinyl is a double A side and has 2 extra FREE tracks available for download.
Also, it is the first product by The Burrow to be placed in the legendary Rough Trade store.
Line Up
Bam – Front Vox
aka R.Y.A.N – Guitar/Noises
Gwyn – Keys/Noises
Track Listing
A Series Of Events
Secession
Future
Hypercompression
Links
https://www.facebook.com/continentalliaison/
http://www.myspace.com/continentalliaison
https://soundcloud.com/theburrow/sets/continental-liaison
http://theburrowbournemouth.co.uk/
Words by Jon.
