Bent
The Everlasting Blink
Guidance
This would-be Groove Armada has some neat line in keyboard sounds, but (portentous declaration coming) the prettiest keyboard sound without a song is like a sailboat with no wind. More thorough composition could meld this English duo into a force to be reckoned with; at the moment they’re proof of an old saying that I think I just made up: a love of listening to records does not make one a musician.
The first single, “Magic Love”, samples an old Captain & Tenille record and, unless I’m very much mistaken, a song from the Ghostbusters soundtrack by Mick Smiley. The results are endearing but imminently disposable. That actually is a fitting epithet for the entire album. Fun for those of us who enjoy a good game of spot-the-sample, but lacking much in the way of whatchamacallit… songs. “Stay the Same” starts with a bouncy little beat halfway between New Order and Kajagoogoo before the bass kicks in. It’s a promising start to a promising single, if not the equal of Brookville’s “Summer Parade” or Electric Music AKA’s “Something Up With The Stars.” Unfortunately, the track never quite goes anywhere, but it has a good time not going there.
Bent also hurt their cause by including the most annoying “hidden track” I have ever heard. Memo to future generations: I appreciate that you’re trying to show your solidarity with those who came before you (Coldcut, Kraftwerk), but sampling the sound of a ringing telephone has, like, been done.
Frankly, this is the kind of thing you don’t need to buy, because your friend the music geek already has it in his record collection and will be happy to play it for you. Ask them.
