Labels: Deranged
Review by: Alex Deller
Century Palm play stuff that’s easy to listen to but hard to truly love. Musically things are taut, synth-driven and kraut-y, while the halting vocal inflection reminds me of a less biting Gang Of Four or a less nervy Buzzcocks. The motoric beats and dedication to repetition leave things sounding almost like a post-punk Moon Duo, albeit lacking that band’s knack for turning simplicity into something transcendental and transformative. Still, while it’s easy to focus on what the shortcomings might be it would be more productive to state that there are reasons to be positive. After all, the barely-contained malevolence (and perhaps inadvertent Total Recall referencing) of ‘New Creation’ is a definite step in the right direction, while the chilly wireframe aesthetic linking their EPs to this LP suggests some sort of nefarious long-term masterplan.