Charleston // Red Hearts Of Gold [Good Bait]
Guitar bands vs. collections of drum machines. I know I’ve poured endless scorn upon those pointless collections of humans jumping around a stage and waving their hands in front of their ridiculous string boxes. Often wondering why people choose to gaze up at a stage rather than facing your own fellow man, as an anonymous figure in a darkened box pumps wonderful noise from a 360 degree array of speakers.
Good Bait, however, is a label that looks to bring these eternally warring factions together under one roof, and – intentionally bating initial summary aside – it is a welcome change to see a band with a forward thinking sound, sat alongside the cream of forward thinking electronic producers – a trait usually reserved for the likes of Radiohead. The result is an impressive package, in both original and remix forms, for even the most frowny listener.
Emotion wrought female vocals lead both Red Hearts Of Gold and Provocateur, coming across as a more dramatically textured and less focus-tested-to-death alternative to the likes of Llama Del Roy, Florence and The Machine, or whatever media darling is currently being groomed to be the forefront of the UK’s current trendy sound. Catchy enough to appeal to a casual listener, musically diverse enough to suffer repeat listens and to lose yourself in. Alongside the likes of Grimes, Kate Wax and iamamiwhoami, I can only welcome this crop of female lead singers riding on the crest of an electronic embrace.
If the originals provide the focus for Indie lovers, the remixes are where the machines come to the fore as the band disappear of behind the stage curtain. The Stavrogin remix of Provocateur is the most faithful of interpretations, choosing to remove the dramatic arpeggio textures, stripping back to beats, bass, guitar and vocals, a subtlety that is remarkably effective.
Heading more towards the realms of House, up and coming deepster Chamboche takes Red Hearts Of Gold drums and turns them into a resounding military kick, satisfyingly live sounding with a human lurch. The track evolves through several moods; subtly dubby in one instance, triumphantly uplifting the next, managing to sound live, electronic, deep, thumping, all at the same time, proving to be a true chameleon remix.
Youandewan ties off the remix package, and finds himself in an authentically electronic mood, much like his excellent and Detroit-y remix of DJ Yellow earlier this year for The Exquisite Pain. Certainly the traditional interpretation of Detroit, classically analogue sounds provide the means, but there is a jazzy end result that is delivered by the 909s and synths.
There was once an era, many moons ago, where House and Indie were not so far removed from each other, I hope that Good Bait continue to bring this modern incarnation to us all.
Release Date: Out Now
Words: fourfourfun
