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Single Reviews
EP Review: Dave Id – Gangs EP (!K7/Off The Uncertain Button)
By Marc Samuels | Published on Monday 24 January 2011
From the knife sharpening sounds on the opening track (‘Only Me I Can Save’) through to the dystopian south London aggro on ‘Memory Loss’, there’s a feeling Dave (if that is his real name) has been listening to These New Puritans’ rightly acclaimed ‘Hidden’ album, although he’s been around for a few years too, so maybe it’s simply a case of two highly talented acts emerging with a similar attitude at the same time, with the angst and uncertainty of our (fucked up) times being reflected by the music.
Amid the swirling atmospherics and clattering militarised percussion, there are yelps of anguish in the tormented vocals, which suggests Dave is a serious young man indeed, though he does know his way around a memorable tune, thankfully.
‘Marvel’ has a kind of mutated dubstep beat that you’d probably find on an Autechre album, but elsewhere it’s just as industrial as the rest of the EP, which frequently calls to mind Alec Empire jamming with PIL in a crackhouse at the edge of the universe. Or Thom Yorke fronting a less electronic, more stoned version of Detachments.
Apocalyptic, decidedly gloomy post-punk this may be, but it’s intriguing stuff and makes for compelling, invigorating listening. MS
Physical release: 31 Jan
