Com.A
Shot Of Love
(Tigerbeat6)
Although it just came out this year, Shot Of Love feels like an ode to the old-school electronic releases that were a little bit goofy (is the title a riff on the Bob Dylan album of the same name?) and a whole lot of gusto. Mixing everything from cut-up hip-hop to drill n bass to fabulously cheesy samples, it's a release for those who like things a bit over-the-top. Imagine early Squarepusher mashed with a broken Nintendo and a touch of Kid 606 and it's somewhat close to what you'll get on Shot Of Love.
Opening with the album-titled track, things begin with sampled bits from a first-person shooter video game, including the opening of doors, gunshots, and the grunting of a character as he's wounded. Eventually, a hopped-up electro beat comes clonking in, and the game elements become part of the track along with chopped-up diva vocals that are allowed to ooh and ah before being run through a blender. "Air Scratch Battle" continues the crazy nature of the disc, spitting out a jerky rhythm and hacked to bits vocals as it lurches through a rapid-fire blitzkrieg of hiccuping beats and keyboard stabs.
"Bitches From Outer Space" takes one of the most song-oriented routes on the entire disc, literally sounding like a slightly jacked-up version of an 8-bit Nintendo theme song of sorts (fans of the lo-fi, but hilarious Bodenstandig 2000 from the Rephlex back catalogue will again find joy here) while "Cherryboy Trail" feels sort of like an homage to Takemura. Elsewhere on the release, things literally go in all directions. "Crime Of Mr. Com.A" mixes playful melodies and chunky beat programming ala early Aphex Twin, while "Heart Warming Creature" puts the skewers to hip-hop, sounding like it could be a glitched-up outtake from the earlier Tigerbeat6 N.W.A remix disc Attitude.
Nearly the entire album flies around with the same wild abandon, as "Sick Of It!!" is something like you might expect Plaid to make if they were hooked on speed, while "Make My Day" is another swarming batch of chunked-up 8-bit sounds and squiggling electronics. Despite the somewhat scatterbrained sounds flying out in all directions, there's still a definite thread of silliness that runs through everything and keeps it all loosely strung together. If you've found yourself wishing for the days of spastic electronic that definitely doesn't take itself too seriously (there's even a hidden track remix of the first track that includes sampled dialogue from the movie Gummo), Shot Of Love is an album to check out. In short, another perfect fit for the merry prankster label that is Tigerbeat6.
Rating: 6.75
