Laura Carbone – Cellophane Skin
Laura Carbone’s Cellophane Skin is an interesting ride, full of bumps and bruises. But, if you really want to understand the artistic vision of its creator, you need only hear the opening seconds. Feedback noises punch through with barbarous glee, while a slow, secretive bassline slowly emerges.
The song belongs to an elite club of songwriting that few others, perhaps PJ Harvey, possess the courage and ability to join. Cellophane Skin could have easily just been a poem. Yet, Ms Carbone is an author whose words work best when accompanied by rabid, swelling guitar noises, provocative visuals, and an overall sound that is as much a tune, as it is an invitation to a confrontation.
Yes, the arrangement of the song is somewhat over the top. However, the result justifies it. Carbone and her band court attention, but hardly look ready to back off bashfully once they’ve received it. It’s a primitive rock that is still very much needed today.
Erotic Secrets of Pompeii – The End of Love
Calling your group Erotic Secrets of Pompeii is like sporting bondage-gear to a Sunday church service. It might not get you thrown out, but it’s bound to get you noticed. Great!
Now that you have this information, you may be wondering whether this is a punk band determined to subvert expectations or a pretentious art-unit. Well, fortunately, they’re a bit of both.
The end of love finds the Bristol group grooving to a post-punk bass line that’s been injecting with so much danceable feel that it’s travelled back in time dancing in a 70s disco. Erotic Secrets of Pompeii sound like the Viagra Boys’ even more sex-obsessed British cousins.
