Pow Pow Roach - I've Got Bad Habits

Hear The Track Here

See that's the problem with chatting about Thomas J Marchant, once you mention his name he starts popping up everywhere. It was pure chance that threw Bright Midnight's lo-fi track with the man who made it popular (at least for me). Confused? That'll be because I haven't said yet that Pow Pow Roach is yet (another) new guise for the T Man, this time an electro-pop (??wtf!!!) project that 'was originally supposed to be a combination of SFI and my more recent songy stuff' but then metamorphosed into something 'far removed from either'. MmmmOK, so far so Thomas J then. You may be wondering what SFI stands for, and you can look here for some answers, but beware the soft, cuddly Thomas J we have come to know and love has a very dark Soundclick past. (Ed: take it from me, SFI=scared f****** insane).

Take no notice of the blurb about the band forming in America on the front page of Pow Pow's page, look down a bit and you'll spot the familiar name and location. Now it's been a long, long time since those pain-filled first days and I know for a fact that Thomas has taken huge amounts of knowledge onboard in that time. Knowledge concerning production (it may well be lo-fi but it takes some doing), musical structure and arranging, instrumentation and - most crucially of all for this musician - honing his prodigious songwriting skills. Actually, I think that Thomas has in fact nailed the difference between what he was attempting with Station for Imitation and the more musical side he has shown with both The Antennaheadz and releases under his own name.

For my money, the weirdness and off the wall delivery that was a hallmark of SFI, and the relaxed confident singer/songwiter of his latest incarnation are encapsulated perfectly in this very, very interesting piece of the Marchant puzzle. Imagine, if you would, that David Bowie made a track with an '80's electropop band (maybe Thompson Twins by the instrumentation), and you'd be close to staking out the territory I've Got Bad Habits roams. Now maybe it's just me, and my confirmed liking for this musicians output, but God this is a neat track so full of ideas Thomas has trouble fitting it all in. The ending alone is worth the admission price, pure lunacy that works so well it should be declared illegal.

Original. Unique and very, very scary. Highly Recommended wtf electronica in song.