Fufanu – Sports (One Little Indian)
CD / DL
3 February 2017
7/10
Review by Jay Stansfield.
Slowly driving in with spacey synths, thumping bass and then some nice
drums akin to Suicide or Can always makes for a good opener. The
title track Sports blends elements of this with The Cure
and a vague wash of Pink Floyd with King Tubby on dub delay which
is very tasty and hypnotic.
Gone For More has some great vintage drum machine sounds going on fused with a real
retro sounding bassline. The slightly clumsy electric guitar and loose vocals
give it a gothic sound and drive it into Tokyo which presents itself as
a bit of a Dream Pop tune with vocals reminiscent of Tame Impala or Of
Montreal and has a nice catchy but laid back and lazy feel to it. Great music
for flopping out to at night with a can of beer and a dirty magazine.
White Pebbles brings the album up a little and sounds like a stoned Kraftwerk
but it has to be said this album is definitely one for chilled out, late night
adventurers and not for anyone wanting music to dance to or bounce around to.
It’s sombre, trippy and hypnotic in all the right places. Just Me carries
on with the familiar sequenced drums and squidgy basslines, floating vocals and
gentle distant synth melodies but feels a lot more uptempo than the previous
tracks which is great. It sounds a little bit like Menomena and would
definitely make a great single if not just for its catchy chorus.
Liability seems to gives a nod The Last Ninja music on the Amiga
which is a very cool thing when coupled with Robert Smith-esque vocals
and even though maybe not intentional, it’s nice to hear a fusion of all these
different elements going on and it keeps your interest. Bad Rockets sounds
like a cross between Plone and early Pulp with some nice tremolo
guitar washing around underneath. The repeating line “Bad Rockets” gives this
track a more pop edge which sets it apart from a lot of the other tracks so
far. Syncing In has a clever title and starts to bring the album’s vibe
down again after its brief moment of pop appeal, ending itself with a nice
wonky and wibbly synth breakdown that swells to a monstrous climax.
Your Fool almost feels like a love song and has a cute little sinewave cheekily
playing behind the solid keyboard chords and vocals at the beginning slowly
growing into a driving jam. It doesn’t vary all that much but then again does
it matter? Fufanu clearly enjoy the repetitive, whirling, driving
movement of sound that defines their sound and Restart ends the album
very nicely and quite surprisingly in song. It’s a magnificent end to a
hypnotising album of synth-fuelled Krautrock jams that feel accomplished and
raw.
Published on Louder Than War 15/01/17 - here
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