So So Modern - Crude Futures

Just days away from the UK, So So Modern prove they’ve not come all the way from New Zealand on an expansive world tour for nothing. Their debut Crude Futures is a powerful and frenzied ride and to think I didn’t even see it coming.

Let me explain: Here I was, a couple weeks ago, putting in work for an elaborate piece on ‘anti-music’, not realising that during all this time of preparation via myspace I’d been in fact following a band called Crude Futures from Brooklyn, spluttering over their insane tape experimentations and eye raping graphics; so foul, so abhorrent, the page is like a level of hell reserved for people in advertising.

Anyway it was all quickly forgotten at the first listen of So So Modern’s Crude Futures. Instantly satisfying, their espousal of recent familiarities, such as the school yard yelling of Animal Collective, the trendy guitar minimalism of Foals and the particalised electronics of Battles, suggest a well oiled machine instead of a band. Abrupt use of syncopation and odd time signatures would turn any dancer into a retard tripping up on his own shoelaces. They also cite mathematical theology and atomic vocabulary as influences – I doubt categorising them as Math-rock will come as much of a shock.

The review would feel incomplete without a mention of their live show, especially since it’s integral to the bands focus. I can only visualise the tension and electric energy of a So So Modern gig; no amount of youtube watching will suffice. Their performance of ‘Loose Threads and Theremins’ (unfortunately not included on the debut) is psychotic and disorientating, a hardcore vibe difficult to describe in words. Not even the band get it right: “we are a four-person collective interested in creating a more fun and meaningful future through performance and music”. More business statement than a rousing ideology, it doesn’t even come close.

Most of Crude Futures stays on an intense delirium which gives the release a somewhat lopsided feel. ‘Dusk and Children’ is their failed attempt at coming down – slow and ponderous at the beginning, even this track can’t keep its head hung down for long. Truly, their best moments are their most exhausting. ‘The Worst is Yet to Come’ contains more E numbers than a lick n' dip and ‘Dendrons’ puts it’s foot down with intricate phrase and weighty distortion. The hazy chords that open ‘Be Anywhere’, the complex yet thoughtful guitar melody of ‘Island Hopping/Channel Crossing’, the interstellar jamming of ‘Berlin’ are some of the record’s highlights.

On the war path from start to finish, So So Modern beg for not a second of your patience. Their cultivation of a shared experience between band and audience give them an edge over similar trends, and while Crude Futures may not be a profoundly unique debut, a doubling of exquisite musicianship and sheer gal will get them righteous attention.

(© Copyright 2010 Brendan Morgan)