Pieces Of Ape! Pieces Of Ape!

This is quite readable for one of my old BBC reviews, I'd say. I'd go so far as to call it "passable".

I spoil you, I really do.

PART CHIMP/ 65 DAYS OF STATIC. THE SUNNYVALE NOISE SUB-ELEMENT, One Louder, Wheatsheaf, 14/2/03

Dynamics. Now there's a contentious issue. Should a performance be a rollercoaster of volume and tempi, or is that crass theatrics? John Lee Hooker played the same song his whole career, and is perpetually mesmerising, whilst a Christina Aguilera show leaps from rock to rap to ballad, creating nothing but a variegated tedium.

Dynamics figure high on Part Chimp's agenda. The first track bounces from arid single note deserts to furry blocks of noise every few bars; later a Valentine's Day track (allegedly) flips between grinding churn and throbbing blast with gusto. Imagine a whole Mogwai album condensed into three minutes, and that's roughly what we hear...until the shouty vocals pop up, that is. To my mind, when playing the fuzzy noise card, rock growls and drum fills actually detract fro the experience, providing a mundane reference point in the assault, and noticeably diluting the sonic immersion. Having said that, Part Chimp are obviously a rock band, not the Glenn Branca Ensemble, so maybe I'll shut up. All in all, a not unplesant monolith of sound. But then, monoliths shouldn't really be pleasant, should they?

Conversely, 65 Days Of Static don't worry about dynamics so much, the guitars and bass strumming along over dirty pre-programmed loops and hisses. There are two problems with this.

Firstly the sound is terrible (nobody's fault, really, it's a good night for the gremlins), so the programmed sections are lifelessly flat. The whole thing's also strangely quiet (One Louder, you say?), so the band consequently sound like some kids jamming whilst an Asian Dub Foundation record plays next door. Secondly, the live element is sadly obvious and uniform in tone (some odd jerky moments excepted), particularly the bass. Which is a pity as the prerecorded parts - what we hear of them - are pretty effective, combining drum & bass with 70 Gwen Party's filthy shimmy.

"This is the part where you dance," they shout at the static crowd. No, this is the part where you go home, lock the guitars away, turn the machines back on and start layering those rhythms. Then we dance.

Ironically, The Sunnyvale Noise Sub-Element's programmed sections sound great, but now we can't hear the rest of the band. And something keeps breaking down half way through the songs. Therefore, this truncated set probably doesn't do them justice, so let's be brief. The samples and splutters are enticing (if a teensy bit PWEI), and some of the random skronks and squeaks are superb, but, as with 65 Days, the guitarists seem redundant, chugging along in the background. More noise, fewer guitars: Anyone for The Sunnyvale Noise Sub-Sub-Element?