Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Policy Overkill - The Stomp Dance

Hear The Track Here

Oh dear. Just when you thought it was safe, Policy Overkill write 'Kraftwerk and Wumpscut run through a meat grinder. Or something. Whatever it is, it's weird'. Given that description you may think that Policy Overkill are somewhat experimental but that doesn't appear to be the case, Electronica: Dance is the genre this one man band is placed in. So, how dangerous could that be to one's mental health? I can't say I am a big fan of dance or even electronica but I do like something that transports me away from my mundane daily tasks (like reviewing for example).

So the question is, will this do that trick?

'This sort of thing has happened before' is what you are thinking as that same vocal snippet and a solid 4/4 kick introduce this track. So far, so normal. However, give this track a bit more than a cursory play and you may find that you can appreciate it's somewhat quirky nature, if not it's danceability. To my ears, it isn't something I would automatically designate as dance although it does hold a lot of that genre's characteristics such as the aforementioned kick pattern and yer almost obligatory breakbeats. There's almost a DnB feel to some of the more rhythmic sections which I found quite cool, but that's because I do like things to be that little bit different.

Initially I wasn't sure where the Kraftwerk influence came in, and I think that misconception didn't help me get a grip of the track. Nonetheless, the more I played the track, the more I noticed the kinds of things I associated with the German ubermeisters. The extremely retro sound of the synths, the stilted vocal phrases and an edge-of-chaos feel that is pure Kraftwerk. The reason I mention this is because Kraftwerk are a big fave of mine so I would be interested in anyone who mentions them as an influence. It's a big boast but Policy Overkill - with a bit of work on the part of the listener - come up with the goods in a way I found really refreshing. What it will do is inspire me to listen to some more of this musicians catalog to see what else is cooking in here. If anything I have said is ringing a bell, maybe you should do the same.

Interesting...

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