(12.19.05) Compiling the classic end of the year Top Ten I felt it absolutely necessary to include Sullen Look, considering that despite the always increasing amount of music I listen to, it’s been played constantly since its release in May, 2005. On the contrary, an average record often receives a huge number of playings for a few weeks until it’s fresh and then you find it months after covered with dust, without missing it. Sullen Look never goes out of fashion. The analogue retro sound which it is based on has been surely abused in the last three years or so, but a perfect balance between acid melodies and tight beats, between epic settings and bouncing basslines, can do the difference between a simply nostalgic record and an album where an artist shows how he absorbed influences over the years and put them in brand spanking new music.
“Red Panda Sunrise” and “Twisted Romance” are mellow melodic acid tracks, like Luke Vibert minus the baroque architecture, but you can already hear something unique in the hardcore electro breaks of “In My World” and “Dirty Needlework,” where the beats are absolutely body-rocking; but where joyful basslines and bleeps are so uplifting that it seems that you’re born to do nothing but dance. There’s a feature of this record I love: despite aiming for a big audience (it’s on Peacefrog after all) it sounds accessible, entertaining and sparkling while retaining a rude attitude on the rhytmical section. A feature that can be heard also in “Criticize” and “C-B-S Master Theme,” these two tracks are so beautifully crafted, the first with funky synth-work and the evocative voice of Erlend Oye, the latter with a spinechilling coupling between strings and basslines, that they instantly gain the status of timeless masterpieces. They borrow much from the past, as “Again,” “Clair” and “Claiming My Tears Back” do, but again they don’t seem the product of an individual stuck in the 80s or someone who’s jumping on the acid bandwagon after the success of Alter Ego’s “Rocker.” Passarani shows instead that much more can be done with the basic sounds that started techno music ages ago, being innovative, surprising and most of all, having a lot of fun. Every time you put Sullen Look in your player, forget everything else you’re supposed to do in the real life, and let the music take control of your mind.
…Until, obviously, you’ll be awakened by the ghost track, the mighty “I House You,” where Passarani took Jungle Brothers’ hit single, put it in a time machine and sent it to a glitch-core realm. This will suddenly take you back to 2005 with all your nerves electrified, but remember that you can always go back to that lovely dream state simply by pressing the play button.
Sullen Look is out now on Peacefrog.
((( Buy it at Amazon.com )))
