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01. Lay Low Promo
release date: August 12th, 2005 01. Laylow \\ R E V I E W LAYLOW
// The album's opener sets off with an acoustic guitar. And while you're
still wondering whether this is a folk album, a strong trip-hop
beat asserts itself showing off the direction that the rest of the
album will take. Burt Ford's and Lola Moon's lush but unobtrusive
vocals lay over changing rhythm patterns and restless scratching.
LAYLOW works well as an intro and it has already got a creepy feel
that builds up a lot of anticipation.
IS
WHAT IT IS WHAT IT IS
// IS WHAT IT IS WHAT IT IS is a very catchy hip hop influenced tune
with great vocals by Burt Ford and Neneh Cherry laid over a
driving beat (that gets ever more drum & bass as the song goes
on) and a rather funky guitar. The duo Burt/Neneh works very well
offering a colourful palate of rhythmic raps and beautiful chants.
While the chorus goes "Not 1, not 2, not 3, endless repeating
is what it is…", we regret that it’s over so soon after
all.
CUTTING
OUT A CAREER
// CUTTING OUT A CAREER announces the darker side of the album. Lola
who does the lead here sings like a frightened girl lost in a dark
and angry world while a menacing beat and dismembered guitars roll
over her. The deep and apocalyptic feel is accentuated when the
faint echo of a Mexican trumpet resounds from out of nowhere
towards the end. This album won’t let you go and that's only the
beginning. FAILSAFE
// Call it trip-hop or abstract folk electronica, in any case
FAILSAFE is genius. Barely accompanied by sparse, percussive
effects and simplistic vocals by Burt Ford on the verse, acoustic
guitars weave in for the haunting chorus where Burt’s hoarse
voice melts with an almost angelic Lola on BV's. "Several
days a week it all comes in on me. Leaves me feeling week, I don't
mean just monies. I’m thinking of profit but not the cash. Treat
me like a freak I won’t fail to speak. I’m thinking of
stopping but I can’t hold back." And Lola's multi-layered
solo towards the end, melodically primitive, a bit too loud and
slightly out of tune sounding like a child doing a counting-out
rhyme works perfectly here.
YOU'RE
SUCH AN
// Neneh
Cherry is back on the leads on the very laid back YOU’RE SUCH AN
where she displays her unique talent for witty and sometimes
sarcastic plays with words. And the chorus is addictively catchy.
"You’re such an asshole, you think you’re fantastic. I
bet you drive a sports car, probably got a small dick. Well I
ain’t a dumb ho made of plastic, I allow my cars to go slow,
while we’re on the subject…"
TIME
FOR THE WHISTLE
//
TIME
FOR THE WHISTLE is a bright enjoyable pop song wrapped in acoustic
guitars. All three vocalists share the lead on this up-tempo track.
Neneh - at her best - showcases her husky seductive vocals adding
a nice contrast to Burt’s and Lola’s vocals.
RUFF
TURF
//
RUFF
TURF opens with a rather simplistic eerie chorus laid upon a piano
line. Burt’s androgynous vocals sound annoyingly croaky this
time around until Neneh comes in with a second vox on the Fifth.
While the deep bass and hard hitting beats evolve, the melody
repeats for almost three minutes with little variation whatsoever.
It is only the canon-like bridge and an amazing rap verse by Neneh
that snatch the track from mediocrity: "Gonna run the laptop,
put it through the stereo. Gotta let the sound drip, feel it
through the window. Had to cut the ice cause I was feeling on a
good flow. That was kind of nice cause I never like to let go. A
to the B to the C to D, I can't get no rest when you’re looking
at me. Had to build my nest at the top of the tree, gotta get a
sting out the damn TV".
FUC
ALL THE DOH
//
This
track sonically runs over you with its hypnotic wispy vocals by
Burt. Acoustic guitars add a human touch to the gravely electronic
texture of FUC ALL THE DOH. The rather restless clipped beat seems
to be announcing a drum and bass beat at any moment. But you wait
in vain as nothing comes. This might be the only down point on
this tune.
STARVED
//
At
the beginning STARVED with its constant humming sound feels
like you're floating on air. This is hip-hop and 22nd century
blues and soul fusing into one. Juggling between a low end bluesy
bass riffing, scratching and post-modern menacing mechanical and
industrial noises, the sound drops you back on the ground shortly
after enclosing you in a Fritz Lang's METROPOLIS kind of
atmosphere. Burt is fighting back with very intense vocals but the
“machines” gain the upper hand in the end. Not an easy listen
but definitely a stand out track and arrangement.
LOVE
CAN…
//
LOVE
CAN… is definitely Trickyesque trip-hop. Burt’s whispered
vocals flow on a dark resonating looped beat adorned by Neneh’s
breathy BV’s. "Love can decorate the meaning… Love can
separate."
BORN
AGAIN
//
BORN
AGAIN is a beautiful laidback, down tempo tune. Burt again
displays his rich vocals singing over an acoustic guitar and light
organ sounds. "The future’s bright, bright and we’re torn
again. And nothing’s quite right we’ve been born again. Should
we all plead on our knees each day? Should we all be here in a
century? Is there a phantom to fix every need, always random and
that’s how we feel."
SUNNY
TUESDAY
//
And
the best comes at last. SUNNY TUESDAY might be the most
beautifully haunting track on this album. The acoustic guitar that
is evident on most tracks is present once again weaving into a net
of psychedelic effects that provide a very liquid and lush sound.
While Burt lends his voice to the first verse, Neneh’s ethereal
vocals wash in for the second verse: "Truth is only belief in
the lies of someone"
If you are expecting Lay Low to be Neneh's follow-up album, you might be disappointed. CirKus is not only Neneh. And once you realize that you will discover a surprise debut that exists outside of time and trends, outside of the unhealthy pressure of a major label and this is what is so good about it. CirKus are not anxiously trying to sound mainstream, they are underground. When CirKus are thinking of profit it’s not the cash, it's art and good music. The result is a bracing sonic adventure that gains richness and resonance with each listen. And its air of mystery that can be impenetrable at first certainly is something that keeps Lay Low tantalizing after it's become
familiar, particularly because, like all good mysteries, there's no getting to the bottom of it.
01. Starved Release date:
May 9th, 2006
01. Is what it is (Original Album Version)
\\ I S W H A T I T I
S
( F E A T. M A R T I N J O N D O) 01. Is
What It Is (Tiger Hifi Mix) feat. Martin Jondo CD 1 01. Laylow CD 2 01. Laylow \\ R E V I E W 'Laylower
is the long awaited revised and re-produced form of the debut
album 'Laylow'. This unique idea to update an entire album from a
totally different perspective was hatched after a year plus of
hard core gigging. It's not a live album but more "13 good
friends revisited from a totally different perspective".
Double CD deluxe digipak including lyric sheet and the original
2006 album version as bonus! cirKus
have added the drums of Tomas Nordström, bass of Jonatan Sjögren
and inlisted the help of producer Pete Davis to augment the
original recordings which have been improved to a brilliant more
spacey yet more vital intensity - bringing it to another timeless
level. |
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