Lo Fidelity Allstars
Don’t Be Afraid of Love
Skint / Columbia
Big beat probably never caught on because people can’t do drugs to it.
The seizure-inducing trance redundancies clogging the import bins is fun for the rotting brains and deteriorating spinal fluids of teenage ecstasy-heads. And the brain-rattling IDM snagged by chin-stroking collegiates is ideal for the horrific acid flashbacks they’re going to continue to have until old age. But those monolithic beats and primal rock rhythms of big beat? Shit, guzzle an MGD and jump in the mosh pit, buddy.
Thankfully, Lo Fidelity Allstars – beneficiaries of the big-beat signing war of four years past – still go for the jugular and still party like it’s 1999, now with a newfound love of psychedelic transcendence. Thank the Gods of electronica for Don’t Be Afraid of Love, since LFA are still searching for pure sonic euphoria, block-rocking those beats without any pomposity or irony.
Following in The Chemical Brothers’ new psychedelic footsteps, opener “What You Want” attempts finding nirvana with a punk-rocker’s attention span. Fuck foreplay, LFA dives right into the money shot – no build up, no trance bullshit, no ambience. Consonant chord changes and sick syncopation play into the primal parts of the brainstem – prolly a trick learned by Spacemen 3.
“Deep Ellum” is pure Bootsy Collins funk (featuring vocals by Jamie Lidell) and “On The Pier” is a fizzy drug-haze that sounds like Prince tweaking a Kelis-Neptunes ballad where the beat escaped (featuring vocals by Bootsy Collins). The pure euphoric chokehold grips tighter on tracks like “Feel What I Feel” and “Cattleprod” – the first is a pure Fatboy piece of sampledelica that turns into a sleazy Europop disco party and the latter is electro-go-go, sounding like a lost collaboration between Trouble Funk and Basement Jaxx.
Even the quieter parts are well-pronounced as speech therapy. Synths hit you over the head, hooks are achingly visible, pianos slam out melodies – none of that trippy-dippy Boards Of Canada bullshit here. And you can’t get more blunt than fucking Beastie Boys samples. Truly, Lo Fi Allstars punch you in the face with the iron-knuckled fist of dance music, making the biggest beats of all.
Skint Records: http://www.skint.net • Lo Fidelity Allstars: http://www.lofidelityallstars.co.uk
