Size isn’t
everything. At less than 13 minutes for
7 tracks, Spaceape proves this.
Stephen Samuel Gordon
is a poet, and, a damn fine one at that.
Set to samples of Voodoo drums and Haitian music we find seven tracks
telling seven stories in an amazing chaotic style that beggars belief. Gordon executes each track with amazingly
originality.
Neurolymphamatosis (a
rare cancer,) and, Gordon’s three year battle against it, is the ‘inspiration’
behind Xorcism and the chance describe his condition through music.
Opener, Your Angel Has
Come, argues with God (etc..) and the impending reality of death. Backed by a Voodoo beat , the track is
frantic and exhilarating, making your heart feel like it’s beating in your
throat ready to burst out uncontrollably.
Further voodoo from Haiti on On The Run, and, if the vocal style has a
hint of Tricky then it’s ironic that the female vocal has a more than passing
resemblance to one time Maxinquaye collaborator, Martina Topley-Bird. Telling of deceit by life and ultimately the
realisation of the lies fed to us.
The hard-hitting tale
of betrayal of the body in Palaces can’t be ignored, making you feel Stephen’s
pain and anguish. He Gave His Body Over
To Science is the most ‘poetic’ in style – so vivid are the words that the
image of medical experimentation is easy to visualise. A Siberian chant backs Spirit Of Change
making it a hypnotic and enthralling experience.
Penultimate track, The
Sound, carries on where On The Run left off.
Frantic wind instruments and random percussion in the background. A superb collection ends with Up In Flames
and Haitian folk (I kid you not!). The
‘Devil’ guests on vocals with a warning to a complacent human race in an almost
John Cooper-Clarke styled poem.
Xorcism is quite
simply a breath of fresh air and a superb EP.
It’s downside? That it ends too
quickly. The positive? That it means you
can play it again quickly!
Brilliant!
Published on Louder Than War 11/12/12 -
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