side a1 kevin [1989]
side a2 blah blah
side b1 kevin [1989] andrew weatherall stadium dub.
in that micro novelty market of ours, what have we got in terms of “heavy trends” [aka death]? as they say: the flashy electric neon chair of nu-rave or the painless death by minimal injection: dance, feel nothing, fall asleep, never wake-up. of course, any conformism puts pressure on you to make a choice when you do not have to. just as it always proposes you fake alternatives. dig around a bit :
there are a lot of other things around...
all this has not been keen on our long-lasting love affair between rock and electronics. there have been a few flashes of light: whitey, joakim, metronomy, asja auf capri, the swamp funk of two lone swordsmen... not enough though...
So on to battant... a proper band, proper songs, and proper electronics; female vocals and electro beats... some will say “nothing really new”, but no dreams of getting a 3-inch square pic in i.d either, just the fusion clonking together perfectly out of the studio they share with the two lone swordsmen and boardroom crew. andrew weatherall being an obvious paternal figure if they [and we] need
one, it is he and steve boardroom who deliver the weatherboard mix of kevin, in a “stadium dub version” [his words].
yeah, kevin now... first time we heard it, we honestly thought: booty bubblegum punk vs lyrics that would never make it to the bbc. oh, yes, the rumour is true, chloé, battant’s lead singer wrote the lyrics after finding a dusty diary by this kevin in her new flat...charming. this very peculiar alliance of raw pop energy
and mental illness is backed by blah blah which is... hmm... more of the same.