Syd.31's debut album is out and it's focusing on the 'punk' part of electro-punk with a pair of late 70's Doc Martins and an urge to set light to anything that gets in its way. Very aggro, very energetic, and extremely bouncy, it's 5 tracks of big beats and simple, driving, loops with a lot of brazen shouting from Dr Magic and Liam-C, a bit like the if the Sub-Hum-Anz had come formed in 90's Ibiza. The fact "
One Night" has stolen its chorus from Blitzkrieg Bop pretty much explains it all: few marks for fiddly complexity or bouffant subtilty but your feet are going to be too busy tapping for you to notice or give a monkeys. Title track "
Start A War" is a brilliant declaration of intent, "
Dieter Rams Is Dead" is a bold and straight-up bit of politi-pop,
"Power" shows off some musical chops (and some sinister dubstep leanings), and "
Monsters" pure dancy polemic on the topic of spousal abuse. It's may not be the fastest, densest, or most immediately explosive of sounds from the genre but it gets the job done on its own terms and with impressive impact. I look forward to hearing more of their work, and catching them live.
