chicks on speed - 99 cent
chicks on speed, having appeared on a variety of dirty electroclash albums and being known for their uncompromising attitude i had high hopes for this album. so what to think, i expected this to be far more challenging but having revisited this album after leaving it for a few weeks i think that this is just one big pop album, which given that the band have now migrated to the corporate label sony maybe this was to be expected.
as expected, there are large slabs of dirty electro fused pop rock, but a lot of it is very radio friendly and will not offend anyone.
is this they way it was meant to be for a band called 'chicks on speed' ?
having said that, highlights are in plentiful supply. opening track is a fine start with its upfront processed beats and studio prodction but then things really kick in with second track, 'we dont play guitars' with its obvious declaration and then adding massive guitar solo featuring peaches (please dont show me her lp cover again!) and is a quality track. using all the sonic tricks that the band have settled into, the shout out vocals, the sloganeering, the electro backing making the band come over like an updated version of talking heads and devo via the frank chickens. the fact that the track recalls early days talking heads makes the appearance of the cover version of word rappinghood all the more suitable. as the original by the talking heads spinoff, tom tom club, was always a full on classic you may be surprised to hear that the chicks have hardly done anything to the track. they may have souped up the production and added a more funky bassline/beat but the track is virtually identical and stands out by far as the best thing on the lp. this one will surely be released as a single and rip dancefloors. hugeness abounds.
the rest of the lp fails to meet this high point.
in fact the next track could be a sugababes track, sweet and melodic to a strange cutup twisted acoustic guitar laptop beat. interesting to listen to, but something is missing, maybe lack of a real vocal line to hold it together. luckliy though the mellow vibes are in short supply as next up is '99 cents', a full on shouty classic. anyone else remember classic electropop group propaganda on ztt in the 80's ? well this track recalls their excellent duel track, so i expect that the chicks on speed have definietly heard of them. once again, there are the atonal shouty vocals which may annoy some, but, actually are far more appealling to this listener. so, when the chorus then kicks in with its catchy melody, the clash between the 2 styles is even more enjoyable. an excellent track.
and that is what this lp is so obviously about. fun. pop. music.
once this realisation has been made, the rest of the lp flies by.
don't get sucked into their media baiting/anti-corporate stance ('sell-out') it is just not convincing considering the label that they have signed to. it's all an act. this becomes very clear over the course of the album. the girls want to be pop stars. they want to be media darlings. they want it all. but on their own terms.
a girl version sigue sigue sputnik anyone ?
so when they declare their unhappiness to the shallow culture aspect of the new world ('culture vulture') you do feel that they have their tongues firmly in their well produced radio friendly chorus's. or, are they trying a different path - subvert from within as this track could easily sit amongst most daytime radio play. will we ever know the truth ?
and so the rest of the lp flies by. nice sonic extras pop up from time to time, the chicks continue with their shouty vocals, they harmonise the chorus's, pump up dirty beatbox basslines, introduce nin style industrial cutup sonics ('love life') all of which makes this quite a wild trip of an instant pop thrill album.
well worth 99 cents thats for sure.
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