Various - Sonic Mook Experiment 3: Hot Shit

  by Anthony Strutt

published: 3 / 9 / 2003

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Review

'Hot Shit' is a compilation of 24 tracks by 24 mostly new bands, exploring various degrees of new wave and punk experimentation.... And on the whole it is hard work,so, boys and girls, we will go through it track by track. It opens up with new Mute signings Pink Grease's Shake, which is a bit Queen like, but mixed with electronica, punk rock and which also has a splash of the Cramps thrown in. Big Two Hundred's 'Let It Bleed' has a dubby, dancey groove and is reminiscent of the Talking Heads during their wacky period, but also has elements of Prince at his funkiest and a groovy P.I.L. Whitey's Twoface is indie disco synth pop. The vocals are lazy and the instrumentation drowns them. Chrome Hoof's 'Opus of Regret' has a funky intro that lasts the whole song, but is a bit too repetative. Klang, ex-Elastica guitarist Donna Matthews' new band, follow with their second recorded work, which follows hot on the heels of their debut single. "Outside My Area' is short, to the point and is one of the CD's highlights. Mommy and Daddy's 'Beachy' sounds a ,littlle like "Mysterious Achievement' from the first Pretenders album of 1979, and has very girlish vocalswhich are in the style of early Blondie. Erasa Errata 'Other Animals are No. 1' is very basic punk. Puppy Bucket and Donny Choonara's 'Cheltenham Flexin' is electronica reggae rap, and is a bit Bjorkish. Montana Pete's 'Das Bot' has a strong Stranglers style bass line and a Fall like vocal, while Crack Village V. Radioactive Man's 'The Breed' has rap tones. Radio 4 follow with 'Dance to the Underground' which has a great groove to it, a cool new wave bass line and a perfect up front vocalist. Queen of Noise, with 'Fantasy Jukebox', sound just like a feamle Sigue Sigue Sputnik. Ex-Models 'Sex Automata' is Elvis Costello like new wave weirdness. Part Chimp's 'Cover Me' is not a cover of Bjork's track, but is a real dirty little beast, which comes over like an arty Jesus and Mary Chain. !!!'s "Feel good Hit of the Fall' is a song based groovy little pop number in the vein of Dexys, and Kings Have Long Arms' Lick' has very deep manly vocals, and while musically competent, gets more interesting as it progresses. Valerie's 'Popstar' has more to it than most of the other recordings on this CD. She sings about the state of the U.K. music scene in a 70's punk and Slits style. Ed Laliq's 'Maybe' is a good little rocker. It is very clever and reminded me of P.I.L. Todd's Good Neighbourhood' is very fast new wave synth guitar pop, and Groop's Kosmic Sound is similarly keyboard based The Yeah Yeah Yeahs follow with their tune "Machine'. They are by far the biggest name here and sound a lot like Siouxsie and the Banshees on this track, but a lot of their audience are probably too young to know who the Banshees are. The Martini Henry Rifles 'And Then We Hit a Truck' starts off sounding like Placebo and ends up sounding like the Fall. Overlord's 'Climbing Up the Walls' is like a groovy Blur and it finishes with Distranouts' Coming to Get You', which is very weird electronica and the most experimental track on the compilation. On the whole then this is hard work, but if you like current Newew Wave it is good place to check out the sounds of today.

Track Listing:-

1 Pink Grease– Shake
2 Big Two Hundred– Let It Bleed
3 Whitey– Twoface
4 Chrome Hoof– Opus Of Regret
5 Klang – Outside My Area
6 Mommy And Daddy– Beachy
7 Erase Errata– Other Animals Are No.1
8 Puppy Bucket & Donny Choonara– Cheltenham Flexin'
9 Montana Pete– Das Bot
10 Crack Village vs. Radioactive Man– The Breed
11 Radio 4– Dance To The Underground
12 Queens Of Noize– Fantasy Jukebox
13 Ex Models– Sex Automata
14 Part Chimp– Cover Me
15 !!!– Feel Good Hit Of The Fall
16 Kings Have Long Arms– Viva The Tongue Sarnie (Lick It)
17 Valerie– Popstar
18 Ed Laliq– Maybe
19 Todd – Good Neighbourhood
20 Groop– Kosmic Sound
21 Yeah Yeah Yeahs– Machine
22 The Martini Henry Rifles– And Then We Hit A Truck
23 Bane Overlord– Climbing Up The Walls
24 Disastronaut– Coming To Get You