Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Gogogo Airheart / Rats! Sing! Sing! / Rating 6.3

Gogogo Airheart have played for 13 years, but never to the same ecstatic reception as Futureheads or Franz Ferdinand.

Jan 24th, as in next Tuesday is a big day. It marks the first major street date of the new year meaning instead of the holiday season Tuesday dribs and drabs the music industry has thousands of brand new titles coming out on this date. In PFM world this means a potentially gi-normous amounts of new music to review.

Keeping this in mind I have to say reading a review of a Gogogo Airheart record that came out last October makes me think...Really? There isn't anything just a tiny bit more recent or coming out any second now that you wouldn't rather review first?

With only 5 new PFM reviews posting each day why not start looking at these Jan24th titles? Check out this list from CMJ ; good-bye 2005 and let’s get 2006 started already.

According to GSL’s biography on Gogogo Airheart the band is actually 10 years in the running, 9 years since their first release not 13 as the PFM review posts.

The band's press release says : "Still toying with the punk/funk/dub mash-up they perfected early on."

Pfm says : "blending familiar sounds-- bratty discopunk, brooding college rock, white boy dub"

I have to pity a band that yes has been at it for a long time, has been outshined artists that once opened for them but to compare them to Franz and The Futureheads? Ouch. It’s a nearsighted comparison to say the least and not wholly accurate as well. I know the one sheet says something different, there are traces of angular dance but after listening to the record I hear something much more trashy, raw, and rather the opposite of Gang Of Four / XTC uptight pop or a knock off brand of “college rock”.

Seven songs into Rats! Sing! Sing! Royal Trux pops into my mind first and The Make Up minus a manifesto and Princely moans second. ( The Make Up live especially)

Obviously every set of ears will hear something different so why not check it out yourself http://myspace.com/gogogoairheart ( top track); that is if you aren’t saving your focus and hard earned pennies for something a little more recent that a record from last fall.

Regardless of what I think of the PFM review, I agree with the PFM 6.3 rating. Considering I have had this promo for ages today is the first day I played since it arrived in the post and had PFM not reviewed it I can't be certain I would have played the entire record again ever. I hate cherry picking from a record because I really do believe in listening to an entire record as one completed puzzle but in this case one or two pieces is all I need for the bigger picture.