Album: Sounds of System Breakdown
Analogies, similes, metaphors, colloquialisms. There’s so much room for maneouvure when writing about music, as much as the musicians have when crafting songs themselves. In this case, Sound of System Breakdown‘s self-titled debut album is so strong and alternately vulnerable in just the right places, it deserves a bright yellow suit of words.
To run riot with popculture (because the album’s ideal certainly does, with eleven tracks of lighthearted, fully-realised Indie aspirations, while its feet remain firmly planted in Onitsuka Tigers of electronic dancefloor-smashers)…this is so bad-ass, it’s the Bride, possessing a brand of imagination and natural skill that cannot be bought, only refined by the tools or instruments in hand. It took SoSB a few years of live performance and steady work to perfect the nuances and techniques within its tracks, an almost-hour of silver-steel tunes, and as a result, they sound confident and muscular, hard enough to contend with club classics. Striking out with Vinegar Joe (free download here), it accelerates through temper and tone, hitting peaks of genius from the past twenty years, saluting 80s post-punk, 90s Indie and blurry beats of the decade just gone. Talking Heads and LCD Soundsystem are clearly massive influences, as masters always are. There is homage but not imitation, a difference in the delivery of this semi-electro trio comes in touching vocals and personal rhythm. I found The Band Played one of the most exciting songs, a shape-shifter bounding from hard disco to soft rock, lacking the disciplined form of its ten compatriots and serving the album all the better for some transience. Following on with something completely different lest we forget the band love their gentler moments, Love’s Only Chemicals presents a changeable palate-cleanser, steering SoSB down a refreshed route. Remarkably avoiding the danger zone of repetition usually too apparent in electrobeats, it’s a DJ dream, impossible to stay still to and it clearly holds a great deal of remix potential.
Yeah, this album’s sharp, a weapon that deserves to be used as a samurai sword on the asses of bands who rush out to record too soon. The wait paid off for Sounds of System Breakdown. They’ve punched through.
8/10
Sounds of System Breakdown is released on the 30th of January. The launch takes place the same night at the Village, Wexford Street, from 7:30pm. Admission is €8 and includes a free copy of the album. Support comes from Betamax Format and Angkor Wat.
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[...] steam ahead for Saturday…as you probably know, I have good things to say about Sounds of System Breakdown. Lost Chord from Galway are really fun and quirky and as for [...]
It’s so true, I’ve heard bits of the album and it’s really excellent!