ART OF NOISE
‘Below The Waste’
CHINA
The Art Of Noise are one of those bands whose album you can put on and with each track drift into the worlds they create. In one they entertain, in others you can just let yourself be absorbed as we all were with the hypnotic ‘Moments Of Love’.
With ‘Below The Waste’, you are, however left with the distinct feeling of having gone nowhere. ‘Dilemma’ arrives, happens and finishes, leaving behind the feeling that there was no real point to the track.
Overall there is a feeling of deja-vu about the album; the single ‘Yebo’, being reminiscent of ‘The Race’ by Fairlight friends Yello, ‘Back To Back’ like Queen’s ‘Flash Gordon’, and there is even a smattering of an Evita feel on the ‘Finale’.
The Art Of Noise that we hoped for is, however, not all lost. ‘Catwalk’ and ‘Island’ especially still have their individual touch. Their use of rock guitar and strings are both vibrant and flowing. ‘Spit’, featuring Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens uses the African influence cleverly, coupling them with a compatable Zairean guitar sound.
’Below The Waste’ is definitely worth a listen, the Art Of Noise being one of the most interesting bands in their hi-tech field. However, with only a few tracks of note on this album you find that it’s got the Noise. but the Art is somewhat lagging behind. ☆☆☆