When you think of Electroclash records, Goldfrapp is the most prominent of the current crop. Add in Ladytron, Client and French Daft Punk and you see quite the revival for this particular wave of music.
A former songwriter of indie-rockers The Boo Radleys is an unlikely contemporary for that particular ilk. But in many ways the dissolution of the Boos after C’mon Kids has allowed Carr to be more open-minded in his influences and styles. That is not to say you don’t hear sounds that remind of your late teens in 1996-1998, but there are sounds that have more of association with a synthesizer rather than a guitar.
Punk Rock has a certain Daft punk robotic repetition to it, before a brief sojourn into 4hero or Zero 7 acoustic territory, but doesn’t make it the cornerstone of it’s premise, and therefore doesn’t become banal, and it comes across a hundred times more interesting than Robot Rock of the French outfit’s Human After All. Oh You follows a similar pattern to the robot-rockers with a laid back Bobby
Ocean seems more early era Cardigans with Hammond organ and triangles, it would feel more at home perhaps alongside Trumpton or Camberwick Green. Jerusalem has a refreshing “Ullo john got a new motor” delivery that gives a pleasant alternative to those that hate the Streets ‘oy oy’ rapping. Packed with beats, it could easily find itself on a dance floor if the DJ knew his onions. It’s what we make it has a summery Alfie (and the rest) lilt supported by a thumping bass that makes sure it’s not out of step with the rest of this collection.
I don’t know any better is probably the most conventional song on show, and probably the closest to Carr’s indie contemporaries. The whirrings seem more akin to bands that appeared on Ready Steady Go than any band likely to appear on Popworld, and for that reason I love it. European Man is Client/Soulwax like in its execution with Paul Draper like echoed vocals to give a distorted, muffled retro sound. Whatever happened to fingertipspaint takes the Peace and Love era and the Madchester mid nineties era and sticks them into a Kenwood Chef, and the result is electronica psychedelia, with Client/Dubstar backing vocals.
It appears that Carr has taken what he loves about the past, and what he digs about the present and blended the polar opposites together to create some pleasant alternative electro-dance music (or whatever you want to call it). The fact that it is so hard to pigeon-hole can be as much of a blessing as a curse to Carr. Distractions doesn’t follow the formulaic patterns of faceless chart remixers that rip off old songs and stick a beat on to get into the top 10. It doesn’t have an alluring frontwoman to seduce whilst eighties flashbacks of minimalistic new wave catch you in their hooks. It takes it’s cue from sixties northern soul, psychedelic speed rock like Primal Scream, good old fashioned indie swagger like the Charlatans, and innovative danceology like Aphex Twin or Super Furries.
It deserves much more attention than the lazy dance remixers littering the charts these days. Whether it will ensnare alcopop drinking 15 year olds remains to be seen.
Craig Aston.
Related Links:
Martin Carr Interview.
Review of Brave Captain's First Album.
Click here to talk about Brave Captain on the Garbled music forum.
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