From the Perthshire Advertiser We like debaser. A lot. When Demo Listen gave a spin to debaser's last demo "It's Far Too Easy To Get Things Right" (Aug 2001) it could have been a fluke - a chance recording that captured a bunch of great lo-fi pop tunes that was going to be difficult to follow. Well, it was no fluke. They have followed it up and the resulting "Thirty Fingers" is even better with four out of the six tracks worthy of an outstanding tag and the remaining to still being pretty fine. Iyt's still pretty laid back stuff in an Eels/Sparklehorse sort of way. the brillaint first track, "This is", challanges the norm with some fairly raucous breaks which lift the song but somehow keep the debaser feel. It runs straight into the upbeat but still slo-fi "Slow Suicide" The band has kept the quality into the third track "Scarlet Fever" with an apparent change in vocal duties. Although instrument swapping and changes in vocal duties doesn't normally get our vote, this works - consistent quality across the vocalists and sympathetic styles make it more than acceptable to our ears. "Scarlet Fever" is neck and neck with "This Is" for our favourite track. Track four, "She" has a well positioned vocal effect but it's not quite as captivating as the following "I'm Sorry". The last track, "Swing", is another good track but our least favourite of the bunch, possibly because of the laddish "f**k off" punctuation - it just doesn't fit. Although we love this demo, six songs is still too many. In saying that, the first three tracks [are] the strongest, so at least if folks only listen to the first couple, they'll get the cream of a good bunch of songs. Great guitar and overall arrangements re-inforce the memorable vocal style (from both singers) and the bands trumph card - solid songwriting. Once again, debaser has produced a great collection of tracks that have been well-recorded and produced at Almondbank's Unit 31 studio. It's tempting to recommend a trip into a major studio but not at the expence of the grass roots production which is part ofthe material's appeal. I guess the trick (which the Unit 31 folks have managed very well) is making it sound lo-fi and shambly without making it sound crap. Dave Arcari |
| Thirty Fingers |