“Streetwise” is the brand new EP from the Not Not Fun label, where Amanda Brown of LA VAMPIRES enlists the help of Daniel Martin McCormick, better known here as ITAL.
Together the sounds that these two produce range greatly from track to track of this four song EP. Chopped and warped pop songs fueled by 90’s tinged inner-city psychedelia not only sounds vintage, but there’s definitely some nostalgia attached to a release like this as well (with it’s nearly corny artwork and the fact it’s supposed to look like a DJ’s copy as the sleeve has no spine). Opener “Streetwise” is an immediate highlight, being a glistening head rush with all types of decaying ambient synth washes that pulsate and sprawl out in all directions as the track perpetually changes form. There’s even an abstract vibe as there’s so much happening at any given moment, making you unsure where to focus but wanting to take the whole big bite of the piece nonetheless. Rounded out with Brown’s chilling spectral vocals and the feel of being sealed up in a glazed over world where everything turns chrome, this release is surely worth all twenty minutes.
Filling out the remainder of the EP is over fifteen more minutes spanning three more tracks, bringing us the squishy “Tons of Love” next. Fuzzy buzz bass supplies this one with a gritty sandpaper texture as Brown begins cooing away in the far distance, kind of like she’s trapped under a crowded dance floor and is counting down the moments until rescue. Now see your way through the rest of this densely mutated pop world and there’s no doubt you will be coming back for a second helping. In the end these sounds solidify an oddly fresh and unique blend of currently relevant sounds, including abrasive lo-fi textures, 80’s and 90’s glam, slightly dubby breakbeats, warped soundscapes and ethereal female vocals. Together these elements combine into an unconventional form of disfigured pop song that seems like it would rather not be dissected, however that’s the only option it gives us.
Streetwise –
My Rating: 7.4/10
Genre/ Tags: Electronic, Pop, Experimental, Abstract
Streetwise EP: Tracklist:
1.) Streetwise
2.) Tons of Love
3.) A Woman is a Woman
4.) The Chic Shall Inherit the Earth
BUY the 12″ EP directly from Insound – limited to 600 !
LA Vampires Goes Ital on Soundcloud – hear the entire EP
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Ital’s Theme 12″
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