FLUXEUROPA: LEGENDARY PINK DOTS

FluxEuropa - dark music and more

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LEGENDARY PINK DOTS

THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS' latest CD, From Here You'll Watch The World Go By, cannot be pigeon-holed into any single category as it consists of many different styles. The opening track, 'Clockwise', is very poppy as is 'Remember me this way', but the Pink Dots are not the next Blur yet, as these pop tunes have a dark, warped edge.

Speaking of dark, 'Citadel' is just that with its creepy footsteps, slamming doors and Ka-Spel's sinister vocals. 'Friend', which is the shortest of the 11 tracks, reminds me of the solo Syd Barret stuff: folky and acoustic and nursery-rhyme-style lyrics.

'A Velvet Resurrection' is a weird psychedelic synth tune, over which Edward talks about wanting to believe certain impossible things. This is quickly followed by 'Kollusim', an instrumental, weird, ambient piece. This fades into the quite dancy '1001 Commandments'. This is pretty tribal and funky but still has a weird feel to it so the Pink Dots will not be the next Jamiroquai either!

'Remember Me This Way', which I've already mentioned, is very poppy and by far the most outstanding track on this CD. It's also to be remixed as a single which I'm eager to hear. But what we have here is a flowing pop song with sax drifting in here and there to give it that lazy feel. Towards the end it gets a bit psychedelic, then fades out and leaves you wanting more.

'This One-Eyed Man is King' has to be one of my favourite titles for a song! It has a dark, space-age synth style which builds up to get pretty angry. The vocals end halfway through. The music continues to be pounding and energetic, but ends with a strange whirling sound which leads on to 'Straight On Till Morning', which sounds very haunting and black. Keep the lights on if you get scared easily...keep them on anyway just to be safe!

'Damien', which is also remixed on the single, has that 'piano easy-listening feel' to it, but don't expect things to be too easy, as the vocals are as chilling and sinister as ever. This track also features the lazy sax sound and all in all is a pretty lazy sounding song, but I'd be a bit cautious of sleep if I were you.

Finally, 'This Hallowed Ground' is another Barrett-style song: just vocals, bird noises and acoustic guitar to begin with, and a flute which comes in for the middle.

All in all it's a very satisfying CD. With all its different styles nothing drags, and the Legendary Pink Dots remain as interesting as they've always been.

JOHN MARSHALL - 22 November 1995