From the introductory howls of Crystal Visions, A Brief History of Love, the debut outing from London night crawlers Robbie Furze and Mylo Cordell (aka
The Big Pink) threatens to spiral out of control into post-Nu-rave amnesia before you’ve even torn through the record’s cellophane wrapper. That is until, after 60 euphoric seconds of migraine-inducing feedback, guitar strings reverberate menacingly, drums heftier than sledgehammers in echoing caves swathe in and as the curtain drops, a beautifully polished cacophony of seemingly unfinished symphonies unveils itself. The boys are back in town. Dominos really belongs on Screamadelica and Tonight showcases Furze’s best Kasabian impression, yet the effortlessness with which they achieve achingly edgy forlorn songs of love and lust is utterly inspiring. Count Backwards From Ten is the sweat-drenched crescendo-clambering finale that epitomises acutely sobering up in an unwashed, unknown bed as the sun darts through painfully opaque curtains onto piles of Carling cans and absinthe bottles. Snarling Prodigy synths collide precariously with hazy, wondrously distorted vocal lines on Golden Pendulum, whilst Love In Vain sounds akin to The Verve on Prozac awaiting one final Glastonbury sunrise. Amidst a hurricane of hype, it’ll be a miracle if they come out the other side unscathed although the hallucinatory hypnotism of Too Young To Love ought brainwash and seduce with their all too brief history of love, shoe gazing and perfection in numbingly majestic drones. Bleary-eyed industrial throw-back electro never sounded so futuristically reinvigorated.
