Conkuss - The Bitter Pill (Part One)

Hear The Track Here

Conkuss, as he will readily admit, an artist you either 'get' or not. I think that my exposure to artists like The Delivery System helped me to better get into what Conkuss was about. On a site where instant music artists were legion and real musicians too few to mention, they stood out as something different. Something awfully, awfully different. Conkuss has always had more than a touch of the dark side about him as his music amply testifies but underneath all that is a musician who is thinking about what's happening and on top of his game. The real jackpot question is going to be whether you like it or not and that will depend on both your musical and stylistic tastes.

Essential Conkuss music is usually raw, half chewed and - often not pleasant to hear. Hold up there hoss... Unpleasant to hear? So what would be the point then? and that, my friends, would be in your brains and aural taste buds. As rough and abrasive of a Conkuss track often is, there is a depth to it, a solid wedge of quality music that does get through, albeit with a distincly gloomy outlook. As Jay (aka Conkuss) advises, it's best to read the lyrics while you are listening to the track because - believe me - you are not going to be able to pin down the track long enough to make sense of it first time round. It's one of those all meat and potato jobs you get that take you months to pick apart properly and at six minutes it's anything but a quick listen.

In fact, The Bitter Pill (Part One) will benefit by prolonged playing because it's only when you live with it for a while that it really starts to register as something complete, rather than a series of sequences which is what our first impression will be. Like a lot of his work, the kind of punk feel and lo-tech sound are things you will become used to and has been his trademark sound for a good many years. This is more apparent in the early (say first verse) rather than in the later part of the track. The sound and vocal remind me strongly of heavy metal bands of the early 70's (Sabbath in particular) but that changes into a much slicker, rounded sound that continues through the end of the track. It's bloody clever, no matter which way you slice and dice it and - if this is a recent work - suggests that Conkuss is up and storming in his time honoured fashion. Something, I say, not to be missed out on. If you don't know who Conkuss is, but are interested in what I have said; take a flyer and give this track a download. You won't be disappointed but be warned this is definitely an acquired taste thing.

Excellent black as a witches tit electronica - but not as we know it. Highly Recommended.