Albums
Who could have predicted this? In one of 2011’s musical feel-good stories, revered UK producer Richard Fearless has revived his acid-drenched, psychedelic dance project Death In Vegas and – whisper it – created a masterpiece into the bargain. But what’s kept him? It’s been seven years since Fearless said goodbye to long-term collaborator Tim Holmes and left DiV behind, seemingly forever. He hightailed it to New York in what proved to be a successful attempt at musical rehabilitation – he did a college course in photography before garnering plaudits for fronting heavy psych-rock band Black Acid. Then, two years ago, Fearless felt London calling again – and, perhaps more significantly, old muckers like Andrew Weatherall. Hanging out at the Lone Swordsman’s studio, energised by all the rave-era electronic gear, Fearless reinvented himself as something akin to the UK’s answer to techno maverick Matthew Dear – and not just because he lends the breathy caress of his voice to much of the album.
‘Trans-Love Energies’ leans heavily on motorik rhythms, ambient washes and trippy pop, but techno is at its heart, and Fearless’ feet remain firmly on the dancefloor, whether it’s the spangled head-fuckery of the shuffling ‘Your Loft My Acid’ or the stripped-down, Adonis-style jacked groove of ‘Scissors’ with its whooshing rave sirens. ‘Coum’ – all malevolent, foreboding synths strapped to an agitated rhythm that sucks the air from your speakers – is dark and dangerous, while the hypnotic, tonal Krautrock groan of ‘Drone Reich’ stands in sharp relief amid these wonderfully angsty grooves. An emotional, triumphant return.
Stephen Worthy
File under Trippy, twisted, Kraut- rock-meets-techno tour de force
Download ‘Your Loft My Acid’, ‘Scissors’, ‘Coum’ Like this? Try: Matthew Dear ‘Black City’ (Ghostly)
