I’ve been listening to a varied selection over the last few days – for instance, the BBC’s dramatisation of Ulysses; the frantic, scared chirps of a pair of blackbirds, who having nested in a hedge in the back garden, were distressed to discover my cat waiting patiently outside their little home. I’ve also been listening to Birdhead’s new single, out on Gamma Proforma tomorrow.
A word about Gamma Proforma – it’s a record company that, according to the bio, was “Conceived in Belfast, established in Edinburgh, developed in London”. That’s enough reason for me to include it on the radar – but you guys can skip the middleman and sign up for their email newsletter on the homepage of their website (link is above) – if you do so, you get a free sampler EP. They also sell cool t-shirts in their merchandise section.
The single includes the main track Tourist, the b-side Dronebone and three remixes of Tourist, by Audiosyncracy, Monosapiens and Tiny Casino. Tourist is a very eclectic, intriguing song. It mixes Kraftwerk-style synths and electronica with high speed rock sounds; pared-back vocals and funk-infused guitar riffs litter the track. In this way I can’t help but be reminded of Lady North, and of the split single they released with Paws on Gerry Loves Records back last August (link to my review here). The video for the single is above.
I had already heard the b-side Dronebone a while ago – it was featured in Edinburgh Man #81 – and liked it from the moment I heard it. The opening salvo of guitar caught my ear immediately, as did the rushing drop down into rad rock just on the first verse. It’s a good counterweight to the more experimental Tourist, and I feel it adds the single weight, by disclosing an additional facet to the act.
