Electrorash

I’ve been loosely following the boys of South Central for a while now, ever since I stumbled upon their weirdly euphoric tune ‘Revolution’ in the latter parts of last year. With it’s big beat chanting, furious high-end and messy drums, ‘Revolution’ made them sound like an updated version of XTRMNTR-era Primal Scream – all post-punk allusions and dirty, guitar-fuelled electronica. ‘Revolution’ spent weeks on heavy rotation on my iPod; there’s just something about it that makes me feel cooler than everyone else on the sidewalk. Kinda like I’ve fallen into a commercial for high-end sneakers.

South Central – Revolution

‘Revolution’ was followed by ‘Golden Dawn’, a tune which ratcheted up the intensity no end, but also threw far more towards the chainsaw-heavy electro ‘banger’ end of the spectrum. Irrespective, its energy was unarguable and its almost beautiful melodic underpinnings suggested that the South Central boys were determined to not simply be another post-electroclash knock off band. This was true hybrid music, where guitars and synths sparred for dominance, and vocodered vocals and the all-too-heavy drums may or may not have been done live. It’s exhilarating stuff.

South Central – Golden Dawn

Since then though, my opinions have oscillated markedly. I’ve found a lot of their original productions to be unnecessarily abrasive, although that might speak more to my lack of punk rock appreciation than any particular musical lack on their part. Comparisons with Late of the Pier are apt (moreso considering the previously blogged about SC remix of Space in the Woods), but much like LOTP, I was just hoping there’d be far more of the electronic in their work. Which is perhaps a little unfair.

South Central seem to have embraced the ‘mystery band’ ethos as a way of settling uneasily between the electronic and rock side of things. From the get-go, SC have been both a 2-man DJ/production team and a 5-man live band extravaganza, all of them nameless and cloaked in hoodies. Their original work is punk/rock with a dash of electro, while their remixes shift in the opposite direction. Either way, the boundaries are skewed, and often they seem just as likely to turn in the harsh, electrified Iggy Pop stylings of ‘Nothing Can Go Wrong’ as they are the smooth, rolling electro-rock of their remix of Van She’s ‘Sex City’.

South Central – Nothing Can Go Wrong

Van She – Sex City (South Central \’Dark City\’ Remix)

In short: I’m not sure I know what to think about South Central. Although, I know I still make it a point to listen to as much of their stuff as possible. You really are never entirely sure what you’re going to get, and that’s something to prize in this often bland business. In April they put out a remastered collection of their singles entitled the ‘Owl of Minerva’ (they seem to share a love of the occult with fellow dance-rockers The Klaxons), which is really just a holdover until they drop their first album in early 2009. You can also pick up a number of their tracks from BeatsDigital, which you should. Because buying music is awesome. As is this remix:

Lalula – Supa Bajo (South Central Remix)

-luke

P.S. Bec also recently put up their excellent remix of Dandi Wind’s ‘Searching Flesh’ , so you should totally go and grab that here.