Horrrse Noiiise
It’s refreshing to hear a band like Fuck Buttons do exactly what they want, uninformed by popular music trends, unaffected by the concept of marketability, and clearly having a great time. The ridiculousness of the band’s name and that of this record–their first full-length, Street Horrrsing–serves as a testament to their “fuck it” attitude and pervasive embrace of artistic freedom.
To say that Fuck Buttons are something completely new would be an overstatement. They are heavily informed by ambient/drone artists such as Stars of the Lid, Tim Hecker and Keith Fullerton Whitman, but these artists tend to neglect hard, abrasive sounds. Fuck Buttons fully explore them. Complete with arrpegiated synth lines they sound closer to late-period Growing backed by Merzbowesque fuzz. Yet they don’t limit themselves to the electronic realm; “Ribs Out,” for example, is solely comprised of a tribal tom-tom that would make Animal Collective envious. A similar rhythm comes back on “Colours Move,” backing an organ masked by atonal haze.
However, the vocals are the most wonderful, surprising and interesting thing about Fuck Buttons. When he’s not howling and screeching like a monkey, Benjamin John Power can be heard screaming through a toy microphone that he intentionally peaks, crafting an even more broken, insane sound than that made by Lightning Bolt drummer Brian Chippendale. The vocals serve as accompaniment to the other sounds rather than a vehicle to say something, which is in many ways much more engaging.
The English duo have vast potential, and Street Horrrsing is one of the strongest debuts of any band in recent memory.
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