Got word of this new label in an unnamed small town in Scotland, Soft Power Records, who have already put out a few singles from Dirty Beaches and The tambourines to name a few. they sent me this single from Aggi Doom, based in Glasgow, which is a perfect place for this minimal, jagged post punk to have originated from.
A-Side's "Bring Me The head" set off the Pylon / Prinzhorn Dance School alarm, with the subtle coolness of Young Marble Giants or a more primitive Grass Widow, they've got all this great harmony that's twisting around, chanting off in the background with an upfront quieter, whisper vocal, Jangly guitar and the machine gun staccato of taught toms and snare. There's a free from sax jam over this big bassline. Mostly I can really appreciate when a band has such a clear vision like this, one that's so polarizing, no one is going to mistake them for anyone else, or accuse anyone of jumping someone else's train. For as many references I'm thinking of, it's not possible to duplicate any of the aforementioned bands. The single is just enough to make me curious enough to write them down and look up when the full length is going to come out. If it's anything like this, I'm impressed.
"Cake walk" on the B-Side has a synth experimental drone of a couple of chords waiting for this big, loose drum beat to drops in with the chorus bass. I was a little worried this was going to be a instrumental throwaway, but that vocal! There's something about the lack of echo here like you're right in that room, like the XX or that yellow sleeve Brilliant Colors single, clean and close. Combined with a looseness that lets you know they are actual humans... harmonies in contrast to this art brut minimal style. Completely great, hitting all of those post punk, art band marks in a great way. Not too polished, like their neighbors Divorce they're playing around with these elements in their infancy, and god can you hear that possibility. The promise! Maybe I could believe in art deco propoganda posters again!
Check it out below, no US distro I could find, but email the label and airmail this one over from Soft Power Records.
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