I’ve been expecting a band like Noise Control to arrive for a little while now. After the novelty wore off from the (mercifully brief) flurry of nu-rave outfits of the last year or two, it was inevitable that a few bands would pick up the day-glo fragments of the scene and try to build something a bit less frivolous, less ironic. “Cities Of Dreams” isn’t the perfect fusion of hard rock and breakbeat, but it’s way out in front of its competitors.
“Cities Of Dreams” starts off with squelching bass bloops, taut snappy snares and slightly nasal white-boy rapping, but around one and a half minutes in everything goes a bit mental as Noise Control introduce a howling guitar lead line drenched in all sorts of phasey ring-modulated synthetic weirdness. It’s a fascinating contrast, and the production shows a sparse attention to detail and respect fro rhythm that promises good things to come. I’m not too keen on Mark Kid’s vocals, to be honest, though a little more dynamic variation or characterisation might liven things up a bit, and some sung female vocals would balance out that street-geezer twang nicely. It worked for Senser, after all - and if you want a touchstone act to compare Noise Control to, they’re your best bet.
“Mudbath” is sonically pretty similar to “Cities Of Dreams” - maybe a little bit too similar for comfort, especially down at the rhythmic level. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good beat… but Noise Control will need more than one of them to last the course. Again, we have to wait for the chorus for the money-shot, with layers of guitar and synth thickening out, filling your speakers with a big epic go-bloody-mental moment that would work well on alternative club dancefloors all around the country. Lyrically, however, it’s a lame duck; surely rained-out festival hedonism can inspire better rhymes than this?
That said, Noise Control are a pretty promising proposition, as well as further evidence to support my theory that a nineties revival is waiting in the wings (and about time, too). Mark Kid may not be the most original or scintillating rapper ever, but it’s plain that he’s got ideas beyond talking about his favourite makes of car, and “Cities Of Dreams” shows that Noise Control have an ear for big beefy sounds that should appeal to rockers and ravers alike. Seeing them play live will be the acid test, but for now I’ll be keeping an ear to the ground for this lot.
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Posted in Music reviews |
Tags: breakbeat, Cities Of Dreams, dancefloor, electro-rock, electronic, fusion, metal, Noise Control, rock
