I’d like to put this eloquently. With charm, with grace, with an unquenchable joie de vivre, a thousand-word essay which lists every single superlative imaginable. I’d like to make it all rhyme in a lame sort of acrostic poem, the type you did at primary school with the letters in yr name. I’d like to write the most amazing assessment of this particular collection of music. But I’m struggling to think of words that accurately sum this record up that aren’t: “This is fucking brilliant.”
Errors created something unique with 2008’s “It’s Not Something But It Is Like Whatever”, an uncompromising, mystifying set of indie pop tunes, smeared with electronic gadgetry, pop hooks and guest appearances from the likes of Garageband Queen George Pringle. It carried on a sensation that was uniquely Scottish – a mix of ideas from electronic acts like Four Tet and Boards of Canada, clashing with crisp guitars and metronomic drumming that beggared belief. Then they went one better.
Under the watchful eye of Mogwai’s Rock Action label, Errors continue to grow. An early highlight is lead single ‘A Rumour In Africa’, where a chirpy synthesised melody intertwines with clean, funk guitar rhythms, between interludes of explorative electronic noise and meandering six-string lines, punctuated by the almost unfair drumming skill of James Hamilton (formerly of Dananananaykroyd). ‘Supertribe’ sees Errors take on European techno keyboards, seasoned with a lust for post-rock structures; only in a sense of adventure, repetition is scarce in “Come Down With Me”. There is no baggage, only a series of short, sharp electric shocks.
What set apart Errors debut record from the pack was an unerring ability to balance guitar and keyboard-based tracks evenly. They’ve managed the trapeze act again; ‘Sorry About The Mess’ is a much-needed breather for the listener, before the krautrock-tinged ‘Germany’ (how appropriately titled…) rattles the subconscious into submission. Dance away.
Anyone can make electronic music nowadays, in an age where every Mac computer is pre-loaded with Garageband. Music programming software is often free and readily available. There are hundreds of thousands of aspiring electronica producers sitting in bedrooms, working on drum loops and samples. Anyone can do electronic music. But it takes real skill and real craftsmanship to make it as well as Errors, and not only this, but to combine it with guitar parts heavily influenced by post-rock and intense drumming reminiscent more of the great jazz percussionists than any rock band? That’s talent.
“Come Down With Me” is fucking brilliant. I realise I’ve failed in a conquest for an enticing, articulate narrative, but it bears repeating: “Come Down With Me” is fucking brilliant.
- Errors - 15 March 2010
- Los Campesinos! - 29 January 2010
- Weezer - 14 January 2010