Radio Kaliningrad

Handsome Furs have crossed a line. Their first album was a very quiet achievement. Withdrawn and reserved, it was sweet in a way that you would never say was sweet to save face. Well, fuck my face i thought it was sweet. It was never going to shift continents or collapse governments, and i like that. Everything in its right place.

So earlier this year they released Face Control, their second album. It was supposed to be sweet. It was supposed to be peaceful. It was never supposed to have some badass dog on the front, and it was certainly never supposed to be this fucking cool.

Face Control is written for Russia, and played with the kind of flair that this decade finds most unfamiliar. Its the guy that doesn't need friends, he'll have the party on his own. You just can't hate that guy. Or the girl at the train station with enormous headphones, dancing around as if possessed until you can't help but go tap her on the shoulder and say "Excuse me? Hello?"

But she'll never even look at you. She is too busy dancing. And it kills you.

How can anyone possibly be jealous of a song? And yet here i am, what a sad situation. I mean, who wouldn't trade dull computer desk dreams for a military cap, several litres of vodka and a tank that won't start.

Don't lie you've thought about it too. At least now we can live it for a while. This album should be sold as therapy, escapist medicine. Red Sqaure for one hour. Even the KGB can't resist this, if Putin gets wind then Russia will have 12 new national anthems. Or more likely he'll play it to his girlfriend, in some hotel room while dancing in his underwear for her enjoyment. Because this album has the power to make that happen.

Long live Moscowdisco, comrades.

I wanna go to Russia.

http://www.myspace.com/handsomefurs

Cryptograms

I saw Deerhunter last week. It was all very swirly, songs never seemed to stop, they rolled. Pleasantries weren't exchanged, they were taken. Wikipedia says noise rock and shoegaze, but that doesn't seem to go far enough. They did nothing BUT play noise, and your shoes were for nothing BUT to gaze at. There was no show at the music show, you didn't even have to be looking at the stage.

Floor rock. Overhead ceiling pipe tangle rock. But never check your phone rock, or what time is it rock. The support, well yeah they may have well played their shoes, but Deerhunter, somehow, did it better. They did it right.

Everyone likes new things. New drugs, new lovers, new ways to smile, new ways to fall asleep. New ways to chill out, new ways to hear the same thing, new ways to talk about something that only happened once. I have a new way to relax, a new place to bury bodies and a new place to go. And it only cost me 40 dollars.

Isolation tank rock.

I read somewhere on the internet that your brain has a weird instant replay function, something to do with short term memory. That's why when someone says something and you say "what" you know what they said before they repeat it. If it takes about half a second, its someone calling out your name in a busy room. If it takes 2 hours, it's a Deerhunter show.

Magic ear puzzles. Audio illusions, all blurry nonsense and useless static, but give it a bit of time, concentrate enough, and FUCK ME its a dinosaur!

Thats what i'll tell anyone who asks me what kind of music they play. And if anyone asks what i did last saturday, i will tell them i did nothing. And it was incredible.

http://www.myspace.com/deerhunter