Bullion / ‘You Drive Me To Plastic’
CD / Vinyl
Young Turks / Released April 25th 2011
What does it sound like?
At times Lethal Weapon, or Kate Bush circa The Kick Inside. At other moments the words ‘funk’, ‘cut’, and ‘paste’ could be put into a pretty apt sentence (though not necessarily in that order), while elsewhere e-disco is the only genre we could even imagine coming close to summarising Bullion’s style, which is back and more difficult to define than ever. Like the movie soundtrack this wants to be, a variety of other-worldly influences and moods are on the disc.
Where would I dance to it?
In the local Odeon? Seriously though this isn’t so much of an album to get your groove on too. Not that it wouldn’t be possible, just that all nine-tracks are painfully brief, and so you’d scarcely have time to find a spot on the floor before things came to a close. Still, play through headphones on a bus and you’ll feel like jumping on the seats and grabbing the person next to you- even if it is just to try and explain to them what you’re listening to (good luck).
What highlights can I expect to hear?
Magic Was Ruler, a funk-guitar sampling groover that would keep scratch DJs and Thievery Corporation fans equally entertained (think brass, strings and classic breakbeats). But the real show stealer must be Lol Express, one minute or so of composition work that demands recognition from anyone who has ever seen a cop-thriller set in 1980s L.A. Which means heavy drum pads married with a saxophone and moody Casio tone, which is only ever a good thing from where we’re listening from.
Why should I pay for it?
The entire ‘album’ goes on for no more than 21 minutes, so there’s very little here that’s going to get listed for radio play. Investing is therefore the only way of giving something back to the producer, and if you splash out on the vinyl you’ll get a rather unmissable etched piece of plastic.
Where can I buy it?
Kompakt is distributing, so no-doubt a record shop near you. Also try Juno.
