It is strange to think of Errors’ first album as a debut in the conventional sense: they are a band so vividly and brilliantly etched onto Glasgow’s musical landscape, that it seems they have always been there. This is not to suggest – as is so often the case – a parochial fervour that claims much but amounts to nothing, though. The band have already traversed a notable portion of the globe, with successful trips to SXSW, various festivals and an unlikely appearance on MTV’s TRL showing Errors’ appeal stretches far beyond the limits of ‘the dear green place’.
This is precisely Errors’ best trick: making music without specific boundaries that can translate comfortably in most environments. At first, this concept may sound somewhat trite, but few bands have ever produced an album like It’s Not Something But It Is Like Whatever. It is equally at home chiming in headphones on the bus on the way to work, buzzing from a club soundsystem far into the wee hours, pouring from speakers in someone’s bedroom or even scoring a gritty American cop drama. It does not rely on listeners’ abilies to understand and interpret lyrics – excepting the spoken word of ‘Cutlery Drawer’ – and draws on such a diverse range of influences that lazy comparisons are impossible, never mind futile.
With the driving squall, synthesiser flourishes, and glitchy beeps of ‘Dance Music’, and the beat-laden, dance-heavy ‘Salut! France’, Errors have continued very much in the same vein as their How Clean Is Your Acid House? EP. But while their distinctive style remains, their songs have become more intricate and carefully constructed, allowing room for greater experimentation and dexterity. The xylophone and time changes of ‘Still Game’ are a testament to the band’s growing technical proficiency and to the added presence of James Hamilton on drums. ‘Crystal Maze’ could have been a lost track from John Fahey’s Sea Changes sessions (which is certainly a compliment to Greg Paterson’s guitar work throughout), while ‘A Lot of the Things You Don’t Isn’t’ provides an elegant, deliberative ending to the album. Whatever it is, it’s something.
//Stuart Purcell