 |
| Track list: 1. Hello, My Name Is... 2. Quémalo Ya 3. Palmares 4. Splinter Faction Delight 5. Judas Goat 6. Lucre 7. The Last Reboudt 8. Crescent Occupation 9. Autology 10. This Is a Fight 11. Boca De Ouro 12. Get on That Bullhorn & Leave the Fucking Country 13. Dance of the Garbageman 14. Ja Helo 15. 2nd Class Sleeper 16. Dreams From Wounded Mouth Running time: 45 minutes Released: 2006 |
This, I think, came as part of a gift. I had never heard of Filastine before receiving it, but I remember being struck by it. I picked up Dirty Bomb later too, though no more of his material. And, for some reason, I conjured the idea that the artist was Portuguese. No idea why. What does Burn It sound like - that is the important thing? I don't remember, so let me listen to find out.
16 tracks in 45 minutes makes them quickfire, though the average is brought down by a number of sub-1 minute tracks, and those like the very first which are just over that mark, creating space for a couple of longer tunes (5 minutes plus) as a result. We begin with a sort of electronic staccato, sampled lines mashed together over a camo-pattern of a rhythm. Only when it drops out into Quémalo Ya with no pause for breath does the album really feel like it starts.
This is mainly rhythmic, a striking pulse of a beat, and a non-English rap - very fast paced. I guess it's Spanish and the artist Latino American rather than Portuguese (may they lose against France tonight)... but the root of my off-track impression all the same. I am less struck by the track now, though I like the pulse. That is a theme that continues into Palmares - here it gets layered with a horn line that has a very Latin feel to it. The combination works really well, giving a North African vibe to it. The vocal - again in another tongue - fits less well when it is there, somewhat distanced from the rest of the track. The percussion and melody lines though? I suspect right there sums up my interest in this album. They slide over and under each other so wonderfully.
I am far less fond of what comes next. The broken beats are interesting enough, but there is nothing to back them up or offset them and the vocal is not pleasant - harsh and guttural when male, ethereal and groundless when female. How this track ends up longer that Palmares is beyond me. It's a massive shame. The North African feel is enhanced in Judas Goat, a high pitched whining top end really gives an Arabian touch, whilst the rhythms are more Latin. Whilst the shrill pipes are harsh to the ear, they give the track a strong sense of personality, purpose and identity, and I really like the patterns put together with the programmed beats. Where the top end is dialled back a bit rather than full on the contrast between the two is pleasant as well as interesting, whereas the shrillness of the "melody" makes the more full on bits simply interesting. I find myself really wishing I could think of / remember the name of the instrument responsible for the wail, but I can't.
An interlude flies by; then we get more of the broken staccato electronica, where the theme sounds to stutter then pick up, and again, and again. I really appreciate this effect for some reason, and when it drops out in place of a more fluid track the tune becomes less interesting. It returns for what I guess is a chorus though. The first long track is Crescent Occupation and this comes with a really high paced rhythm to begin with, before morphing into an Arabian-sounding tune. The rhythm is kept up as the melody joins in, giving the piece a real energy even when that tune is, in places, quite sparse and laid back. I like that here the track has enough time to really sink in, allowing the listener to steep themselves in its sounds, and really get a strong image building up. The shorter tracks come and go so fast that the imagery is whisked away almost as soon as one starts to see the picture. It is fair to say that I like the effect, and want more of it - even as I recognise that actually by mixing it up like this the overall impact is probably increased.
What follows is quite dull for the first third of its length - a pretty flat rhythm. It isn't really saved by the addition of a vocal a minute in either. I don't find much to like in the vocal performance, can't understand the lyrics (though that is my failing not the music's) and there is not too much else added to the track to build it. It may as well have been another interlude, as the next item is. Yawn.
Hopefully with that past we get into better stuff again. I am getting a great or forgettable but nothing in between vibe from this. There is a pause as I wonder why the hell the playlist is out of sync with the album listing - its not Shuffle, and when I reload the album all is well but what an odd little confusion and annoyance. I got two interludes back to back, you see. Not what I wanted. Now I have an atmospheric track with English vocals for a change. It sounds familiar; the style of the female rap, and the tune could be any number of artists - it isn't that I have heard this track a lot, but ones like it are two-a-penny in my head (if not in truth). I hear an interlude a second time after the mix up and then we get the Dance of the Garbageman, the longest track on the record.
It begins with nothing but percussion - very metallic and snappy. This is, it seems the tone set. Over the next couple of minutes the rhythm varies, steps up and crescendos and the track gets some sampled voices here and there, but there is very little approaching a tune. It could be Stomp - which is what the title of the track makes me think of anyway! Over time there is a touch more variation added but never much in the way of a top end. It's not actively unattractive as a piece, but neither does it do much to engage me and I find my eye drawn to the silent TV and the opening exchanges of the 2016 Wimbledon final. On Serve; Murray not yet imploding.
Ooh, that's a more interesting rhythm, a few heavier beats structuring the piece whilst higher tempo, lighter ones provide a sense of "tune". This feels weighty, and is added to by the vocal - a female harmony which has a similar sense of weight and tone to it. The atmosphere of the track is lovely, but the reality of it is a little disappointing; it doesn't kick on and I find my attention drifting again before it closes. Suddenly I am on the final track - a 17 second interlude gone before I knew it had been reached.
The closing track has a similar sense of seriousness to it, a rueful air to the vocal. The percussion doesn't have quite the same gravity as it interferes with the long held notes in the voice, quite deliberately. The broken or inconsistent effect this leaves is rather nice, amplifying the impact of that vocal at the points that it is given space to breathe.
And then it is over. All in all, I can see why I went after more; when it is good it is very good. I will be getting rid of some chaff here - the interludes, for a start, but damn if there aren't a couple of really fine tunes here. Palmares is the stand out, but that fusion of influences is felt more widely, and that makes me happy.
16 tracks in 45 minutes makes them quickfire, though the average is brought down by a number of sub-1 minute tracks, and those like the very first which are just over that mark, creating space for a couple of longer tunes (5 minutes plus) as a result. We begin with a sort of electronic staccato, sampled lines mashed together over a camo-pattern of a rhythm. Only when it drops out into Quémalo Ya with no pause for breath does the album really feel like it starts.
This is mainly rhythmic, a striking pulse of a beat, and a non-English rap - very fast paced. I guess it's Spanish and the artist Latino American rather than Portuguese (may they lose against France tonight)... but the root of my off-track impression all the same. I am less struck by the track now, though I like the pulse. That is a theme that continues into Palmares - here it gets layered with a horn line that has a very Latin feel to it. The combination works really well, giving a North African vibe to it. The vocal - again in another tongue - fits less well when it is there, somewhat distanced from the rest of the track. The percussion and melody lines though? I suspect right there sums up my interest in this album. They slide over and under each other so wonderfully.
I am far less fond of what comes next. The broken beats are interesting enough, but there is nothing to back them up or offset them and the vocal is not pleasant - harsh and guttural when male, ethereal and groundless when female. How this track ends up longer that Palmares is beyond me. It's a massive shame. The North African feel is enhanced in Judas Goat, a high pitched whining top end really gives an Arabian touch, whilst the rhythms are more Latin. Whilst the shrill pipes are harsh to the ear, they give the track a strong sense of personality, purpose and identity, and I really like the patterns put together with the programmed beats. Where the top end is dialled back a bit rather than full on the contrast between the two is pleasant as well as interesting, whereas the shrillness of the "melody" makes the more full on bits simply interesting. I find myself really wishing I could think of / remember the name of the instrument responsible for the wail, but I can't.
An interlude flies by; then we get more of the broken staccato electronica, where the theme sounds to stutter then pick up, and again, and again. I really appreciate this effect for some reason, and when it drops out in place of a more fluid track the tune becomes less interesting. It returns for what I guess is a chorus though. The first long track is Crescent Occupation and this comes with a really high paced rhythm to begin with, before morphing into an Arabian-sounding tune. The rhythm is kept up as the melody joins in, giving the piece a real energy even when that tune is, in places, quite sparse and laid back. I like that here the track has enough time to really sink in, allowing the listener to steep themselves in its sounds, and really get a strong image building up. The shorter tracks come and go so fast that the imagery is whisked away almost as soon as one starts to see the picture. It is fair to say that I like the effect, and want more of it - even as I recognise that actually by mixing it up like this the overall impact is probably increased.
What follows is quite dull for the first third of its length - a pretty flat rhythm. It isn't really saved by the addition of a vocal a minute in either. I don't find much to like in the vocal performance, can't understand the lyrics (though that is my failing not the music's) and there is not too much else added to the track to build it. It may as well have been another interlude, as the next item is. Yawn.
Hopefully with that past we get into better stuff again. I am getting a great or forgettable but nothing in between vibe from this. There is a pause as I wonder why the hell the playlist is out of sync with the album listing - its not Shuffle, and when I reload the album all is well but what an odd little confusion and annoyance. I got two interludes back to back, you see. Not what I wanted. Now I have an atmospheric track with English vocals for a change. It sounds familiar; the style of the female rap, and the tune could be any number of artists - it isn't that I have heard this track a lot, but ones like it are two-a-penny in my head (if not in truth). I hear an interlude a second time after the mix up and then we get the Dance of the Garbageman, the longest track on the record.
It begins with nothing but percussion - very metallic and snappy. This is, it seems the tone set. Over the next couple of minutes the rhythm varies, steps up and crescendos and the track gets some sampled voices here and there, but there is very little approaching a tune. It could be Stomp - which is what the title of the track makes me think of anyway! Over time there is a touch more variation added but never much in the way of a top end. It's not actively unattractive as a piece, but neither does it do much to engage me and I find my eye drawn to the silent TV and the opening exchanges of the 2016 Wimbledon final. On Serve; Murray not yet imploding.
Ooh, that's a more interesting rhythm, a few heavier beats structuring the piece whilst higher tempo, lighter ones provide a sense of "tune". This feels weighty, and is added to by the vocal - a female harmony which has a similar sense of weight and tone to it. The atmosphere of the track is lovely, but the reality of it is a little disappointing; it doesn't kick on and I find my attention drifting again before it closes. Suddenly I am on the final track - a 17 second interlude gone before I knew it had been reached.
The closing track has a similar sense of seriousness to it, a rueful air to the vocal. The percussion doesn't have quite the same gravity as it interferes with the long held notes in the voice, quite deliberately. The broken or inconsistent effect this leaves is rather nice, amplifying the impact of that vocal at the points that it is given space to breathe.
And then it is over. All in all, I can see why I went after more; when it is good it is very good. I will be getting rid of some chaff here - the interludes, for a start, but damn if there aren't a couple of really fine tunes here. Palmares is the stand out, but that fusion of influences is felt more widely, and that makes me happy.
No comments:
Post a Comment