Fuck Buttons review

Back in 2009 I wrote record reviews for a now-defunct website. Here's one I did for Fuck Button's 3rd record Tarot Sport.

artist: Fuck Buttons
album title: Tarot Sport 
label: ATP 
format: CD
release year: 2009
rating: 7.9

The English duo went and made a dance record. Not that Tarot Sport will be mistaken for Basement Jaxx anytime soon, but they've taken their homemade electronics and added grooves that make their lo-fi textures all the more enduring.

Opening with the longest track, the 10-minute “Surf Solar” is also the most intricately produced tracks on the album, combining chopped-up vocals and processed samples with operatic dynamics. That kaleidoscopic sound fades into a cloud of noise before leading into “Rough Steez”, which chops up the static with severe tremolo, making a solid foundation for a multitude of bleeps and gnarly distorted tones.

The group always manages to tow the noisier side of their work even when gentler pastures seem imminent; “Lisbon Maru” rides a soft wave of ambient tones until the soft yet insistent groove kicks in, but it’s the chopped-up spurt of static riding the beat that gives it character and keeps the song from a generic chillout sound. The watery, unhinged sample that springs to life more than halfway through the nine minute running time actually sounds like a hook, though its barbed tone lends it a nice offset to the midtempo drum machine beat.

Combining an organ with what sounds like steam escaping, “Olympians” strives for the same epic sweep of the gods of the title. The shuffling, vaguely tribal beat continues as they pile on hook after hook, with a satisfying 4-note motif appears at the halfway mark that adds even more grandeur. It’s not long before the repetition becomes engulfing and what initially sounded exciting becomes part of the overall groove.

The somber “Olympians” fades into the toy-store-on-acid insanity of “Phantom Limb”, which doesn’t develop much beyond the concept of employing as many noisemakers as possible. It’s a schizophrenic piece, and the sheer unpredictability is interesting, but it lacks the cohesion of the longer tracks. Instead of editing a jam down to its basic components, “Phantom Limb” is like fast-forwarding through hours of improvisation without much of a goal in mind.

“Flight of the Feathered Serpent” is a dizzying race to the finish; layering alternately straightforward and off-kilter drum loops and developing the riff from “Olympians” into an ascending psychedelic tornado. Its one of the longest tracks, and despite its limited palette it manages to survive on adrenaline alone, pounding away as it dares dance floors to succumb before suddenly dropping away. It’s that kind of unpredictability that keeps them fresh as they search for their own sound.