Vukovar
– Emperor (Small Bar Records)
CD
/ DL
Out
Now
8.5
/ 10
St Helens ‘supergroup’ release their new album.
After
releasing one of the year’s finest singles, the obvious thing to do is drop the
same in album form. Vukovar might just
have done that.
The
New World Reorder EP was a fascinating mix of electronica meets Indie
sensibility meets alternative experimentalism, and Emperor continues the
eclectic mix with eleven tracks each one completely different to the last.
Hailing
from the ‘brutalist wastelands in the North of England’ Vukovar were formed by
Rick Clarke and Dan Shea (The Bordellos, Neurotic Wreck) and are joined on
Emperor by a plethora of Postcode members and Small Bear staff. Staggeringly recorded in just one weekend in
the Summer of 2014 the album is a minor triumph.
The
bizarre whispered vocals of Lose My Breath over a sprawling guitar melee maybe
highlight the extremes of the album following the almost pop tones of Koen
Cohen K earlier in the listing. The key
to the delights of Emperor are clearly its diversity, creating an almost
compilation type feel.
Album
opener Silent, Almost Sleeping is a low-key, voice and harmonium-esque affair
creating a feeling of high anticipation of what may follow. The beautifully repetitive Regular Patrons Of
The Salon Kitty has echoes of the looped sounds of the Chemical Brothers as it
slowly meanders through a contagious riff and straggling vocals and Concrete
could almost be a speeded up version of the same bass-line if you listen
intently enough.
With
a voice that often sounds like a cross between Ian Curtis and David Gedge there
is enough punk and new wave attitude to please even the most discerning music
fan as they intertwine with more regular indie pop ideals.
No
Guilt Felt features a manic bank of voices (no doubt the Small Bear crew) in between
slowed guitars and subtle words before speeding into a manic close, and R’duced
goes darker and darker into the depths of death-pop before a version of the
superb The New World Reorder rears its head.
How New World Reorder manages to be denied mainstream airplay is quite
astonishing and the folks at Radio 6 would certainly lap up this kind of
stuff. Sadly, it may remain one of the year’s
best kept secrets.
Closing
with yet another unusual and inventive track in the automated sounding The
Staircase a track which builds on a semi-industrial loop over faced with a layered
spoken word.
Emperor
is a first-rate collection from a band clearly brimming with ideas, and an
album which deserves high praise indeed.
Links
Small Bear Records
Vukovar on Tumblr
Vukovar on Twitter
Vukovar on Facebook
New World ReOrder review
Published on Louder Than War 27/07/15 - here
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