Fear 2 Stop - 2pm - Versions 1 & 2

Hear The Track Here

Anyone with any experience with Houston's Fear 2 Stop will know that you need to have a strong musical constitution to get what they are about. The one thing that you will know is that this is a band who know how to surprise you - time and time again. OK granted, it might not be the greatest surprise ever invented but hey you get your kicks where you find them, right? As usual there is a long and convoluted story behind the track so let me summarise; originally written in 1989 (when band member Billy Castillo was a mere 11 years old) and finally set to music in 2002, 2pm comes in two versions. I was asked to review version 2 and I will, but I had to listen to the other version, didn't I?

I didn't? Damn.

2pm Version2 is, confusingly, the original track. Version 1 is where Billy attempted to some structure behind it and - yay - make a song. It doesn't of course, but that is also par for the Fear 2 Stop pantheon and one of the reasons I treasure them so much. The thing is, no matter what style or genre, they always but always come out sounding just like Fear 2 Stop - which is a very good thing for F2S fans of which there are a surprising amount. Version 2 weighs in at a incredibly puny one and a half minutes so giving it a listen isn't going to stretch anybody. However, it would be best to say that Version 2 does serve as a kinda/sorta demo for version 1 - which I prefer, given the choice.

It doesn't really do to much, ya see.

On the other hand, Version1 is exactly what I would expect from Fear 2 Stop; a unique mix of digital and analog, a well known trademark of theirs. If the track appears to wander from to point propelled by the tinniest drums known to man, without much in the way of structure to get in your way, then I'd say you have just had a Fear 2 Stop moment. Depending on how that struck you, you will either 'get' what this band are about or you won't. There are no halfway measures with this extremely experimental crew. So, ultimately I plumped for version 1 for all sorts of reasons but mainly because it actually sounds like I would expect - and that's a rare thing with this band let me tell you.

Handle with care but Recommended if you like different.