So, another single from Nephu Huzzband… “Should Have Used An Abacus” doesn’t live up to the promise of their last offering, but it’s still not a bad bit of music by comparison to the rest of the scene.
“Should Have Used An Abacus” itself quickly settles itself into a by-now run-of-the-mill Gang Of Four/early Cure post-punk groove… and just stays there for three minutes, cycling through verse and chorus in time-honoured fashion. Thanks to my prior experience with Nephu Huzzband’s material, I was hanging on every note the first time through, waiting for them to pull the metaphorical rug out. In the end, though, “Should Have Used An Abacus” surprised me by not surprising me at all, which was rather disappointing.
B-side “Clockwork” is much more interesting, however; lots more parts means lots more variety, which in turn means many more reasons to keep listening. Nephu Huzzband build things up with a tribal-sounding beat and an off-kilter staccato riff before turning into something that reminds me of a very minimal and mournful take on Bloc Party’s earlier material. This is partly due to the hands-off production, which brings the clean tones of Nephu Huzzband’s instruments to the fore but leaves them sounding somewhat emaciated as a result. Someone find a good producer to make these guys shine a bit, eh?
“Should Have Used An Abacus” doesn’t inspire me the way “Nurse! Nurse!” did, but it’s still an interesting brace of tracks from a British band treading the paths less travelled. Once Nephu Huzzband have hunted down a sound truly their own, they’ll be a force to be reckoned with.
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Posted in Music reviews |
Tags: art-rock, Nephu Huzzband, post-hardcore, post-punk, progressive, Should Have Used An Abacus
