Combover Beethoven Archive
Combover Beethoven
maniacs
The title track from Maniacs begins with a poem. Between the pulsing synth and the steady groove, you almost don't notice that what you're being served is tantamount to Scripture.
You and I,
We were of the same first clay
Before we breathed,
Before dust, butterflies,
Orchard shade,
Da Vinci, Chopin, Faraday—
Those vapour notes that swirled and seethed.
We, the bubbles curled with colour,
Watched the melody of elemental scars
Tear blank spaces
Into armour and angry faces.
How soon we claimed the Moon and bothered Mars.
How strong the wanton singalong.
If that’s not enough to convince you to spend some time getting to know Combover Beethoven, I’m not sure anything else I could say will do the trick. Still, there’s plenty to say.
Combover Beethoven
the slide
There’s a phrase I’ve been saying to myself lately to describe certain art. Certain art that strikes me, that feels so aware of present empires in such painfully universal ways I can’t help but feel it.
The art that cues in on this, that points at the unmasked villain and says its name aloud alongside the title of villain, grants me this phrase: “it makes me hate myself, but in the best way.” The phrase is muttered somewhat facetiously, but the feeling is genuine.
This certain art reveals the associations we have with social immorality and depravity that demands we look at the issue and reconsider our own proximity, involvement, or actions.
Combover Beethoven’s third album, The Slide, has me repeating this phrase, which previously, had been reserved for literature. But really, artists Tank and Unit’s The Slide is literature, and it makes me hate my associations, but in the right way. But would anyone want to listen to that?
I would argue just about everyone should want to listen to that.
Combover Beethoven
Somewhere In The Freefall
Combover Beethoven have released four albums in two years, plus a handful of other projects - the excellent Lonnie & Donnie, a collection of reimagined Discharge covers called Blind Alleys, and some one-off singles.
It’s a dizzying pace, but spend a bit of time with the texts and it’s clear that the group is not forcing or rushing anything. It’s just that this is an age when things need saying, and how lucky that some of the people who need to say them have a bit of musical aptitude so it comes in a tastier package than simple social media screeds.
Somewhere In the Freefall feels a bit like the closing of a loop. In a purely musical sense, Combover Beethoven have refined their approach to the point where it feels locked in. There’s a consistently forward vocal mix, allowing Unit’s delicate but emotionally profound delivery and his devastating texts to cut through. It’s one of the only reproaches possible to the masterpiece of a debut album, Borders - the fact that you really needed a lyric sheet to understand how good it was. No such impediments exist on Freefall.
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