E.P Review: Das Koolies - The Condemned

 


What do you get when four members of a band come back together under a different name and attempt to re-invent their own wheel? In essence, they try to do what they intended in the first place - well, they do in this case anyway. There can't be too many examples of that, in fact, this is the only one I can think of. 

You see Das Koolies are basically the wonderful Super Furry Animals, without the band's dynamic songwriter and best-known face Gruff Rhys, who continues to plow the furrow of his own solo material. Content to move on from their past, whilst leaving it open for future endeavours, Huh Bunford, Cian Ciaran, Daffydd Ieuan and Guto Price have moved into a new era in their musical adventures that began to the backdrop of scenic North Wales all those years ago. 



The band have released a new E.P called The Condemned E.P, which doesn't stray too far from past glories in it's mechanics, but similtaneuously reaches out for new sonic territories to explore. Produced by the band themselves, it was mixed in collaboration with Chris Shaw, who is known for working in Hip Hop circles with the likes of Public Enemy, Run-DMC and A Tribe Called Quest.

We can even go back as far as Super Furry Animals first gig in 1993 to the genesis of this project. Curtailed after a mere 30 seconds due to electrical issues and band intoxication - it wasn't just a visible spark that was created on that ill-fated evening. 

Sixteen minutes of psych-infused electronica, The Condemned skirts around the boundaries of genre and confounds expectations, which for musicians almost 30 years into their career can be a tough thing to pull off.  Title track 'The Condemned' comes out of the blocks with a relentless pace that doesn't waver and has the sort of filthy bassline that makes you question your own morals - perhaps the point given the song's subject matter. The beats mutate and it isn't an easy listen, but did you really expect anything else? There are certain parallels that can be made to contemporary acts here too, it would certainly go down well with fans of Snapped Ankles for example. 

From electricity-generating hamsters, to exploring the edges of the universe, to hanging out with infamous drug dealers - nothing was ever off the table when it came to what SFA wrote about. It's what made the band one the most enduring of the era; you could always expect the unexpected. So it's no surprise that 'You Killed My Robot' has much of the same playful and awestruck energy that made Super Furry Animals such a enjoyable listen.

The song takes takes an intricate delve into the global, social and political outlook of the band and tells the story of technology that was let down by human error or misuse. It pays homage and mourns the loss of easily-sacrificed drones that went deep into the destroyed reactors of the doomed Fukushima nuclear plant, the backing giving life to those man-made martyrs through a fusion of distorted vocals and mangled guitars.

'Dim Byd Mawr' translates loosely to 'Nothing Big', and is the longest track on the E.P at nearly 8 minutes; fans of the band's previous guise will be aware it continues the tradition of at least one Welsh language song on every release. The opening is a blend of shimmering synth counteracted by a clanging percussion that suggests the pipes might need a service. 

The track really kicks in with an intensity worthy of Giorgio Moroder at his 70s' pomp. Just as you're really hitting the groove, there's an twee instrumental break with psych-infused sentiments - it breaks up the flow slightly - but confounds expectations once more. Of course, there's time for the finale to turn into a full-on rave. 

Completing the E.P is 'Grab A Slice' - an unhurried collection of bassy beats, bleeps and squeaks that seem to never fully materialise into something as coherent as we've previously been treated to. Again, that's very much the point. It's a five minute exploration of sound that attempts to conclude this collection with the listener just as engaged as when they began. Mission accomplished.

 

You can follow Das Koolies on FacebookTwitter and Instagram.

Buy The Condemned now from Bandcamp 



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