Posted by BROM ‘Late Night Shopping’ is the debut album for Manchester band Autokat on the much loved local label Akoustic Anarkhy. The album opens with ‘Shot’, a track with an urgent pace and choppy guitars. The track starts quite minimally at first, with chiming guitars, augmented after a good few bars with a rock steady drum beat. I’m really pleased that the vocals don’t disappoint. This momentum seems to build with a jagged guitar backbeat throughout the verse, then at almost two minutes in the chorus bursts through the door and gives everyone a proper kicking! You can tell that there’s a tension throughout the next verse as the chorus stands threateningly in the corner of the room before finally losing patience and administering an almighty thrashing to the lads. Next up is ‘Seven Years’ a pleasant enough tune, a wistful sounding melody for the verse followed by an upbeat chorus. Nice enough sounding for a song that seems to be about the sad victim of too much indulgence. Three minutes in is the point where I really took notice where the guitars build to a particularly satisfying drone, reminding me a little of the highpoint of ‘Interstate 5’ by The Wedding Present, but I’m trying so hard not to mention other bands during this review, as I have no right to do so! ‘Dealy’ has been described as a piece of backing music, by a perceptive young friend of mine, as background music in a part of the Holiday programme where Judith Chalmers is extolling the virtue of some rural part of the country and the details of the prices flash up on screen. Nice one Mike! Couldn’t put it any better myself, other than to say that this peaceful tune provides one of two interludes, which I consider vital in the scheme of things to the album as a whole. Okay, my crap computer is now refusing to read the disc and my upstairs stereo refuses to recognise it! The rest of this review will be less trainspotterish as I recall the album from memory, having played it about fifteen times already. I really hurt my hand then, punching the base unit of this crap computer: Bastard! ‘Dish Out’ starts off like some cool ‘Daydream Nation’ era Sonic Youth track with the kind of arresting melody that drew me to some of their (by Sonic Youth’s standards!) quieter tracks. This is in no way a criticism or accusation of plagiarism, just a description as best a bloke who can’t play a guitar can give. The vocals float pleasantly above the tune providing a counterpoint to some of the spikier bits. ‘Get Off The Bar’ is redolent of the first Stone Roses album (sorry to keep doing this, Kats!), the drums even mimicking ‘I Am The Resurrection’ incidentally, which nicked ‘The Light Pours Out Of Me’ by Manchester boys ‘Magazine’ anyway, so a damn fine lineage in the guy’s books! Next up, ‘Bowling’ starting with a guitar that I can only describe as ‘shimmering’ which continues throughout the song like a fresh breeze, as the acoustic sounding lead gives an impression of light reflected off a stream in spring. I don’t take drugs and I’ve had no beer yet: This is just the mental image that springs to mind prior to the vocals easing in. A lovely minor change in the chorus gives a slight air of darkness and mystery as ‘ten pin nightmares’ get a mention. Just the right kind of quiet track to lead you into a false sense of security before… ‘Innocence’ is this reviewer’s favourite track, starting once again with chiming guitars and a propelling drum beat, just before what sounds like a police siren in the distance and the whole thing takes on a punky momentum, but with elaborate lead guitar providing a gorgeous melody over the top, going up and down in exactly the right places. The song finishes at exactly the right point before it becomes repetitive, perversely leaving you wanting more but knowing it finished bang on time, and yes, it does go out with a ‘bang’! ‘Fill Your Cup’ is another belter, full of mystery in the verses before the chorus kicks off and the lads really give it some ‘volume 11’ action. At about 2'30" where the melody proper goes really double minor really gives an edge to the song. This album just grows and grows! That point in ‘Fill Your Cup’ really is a 'hairs on the back of the neck' moment! In 'Uber Patriot', there's a bit that's proper 60's sixties spy film guitar action towards the beginning. A younger mate in his 20s, to whom I played your album today said, and I paraphrase well: "It's like Michael Caine. You know? That film?" and without me prompting him he actually said "The Ipcress File". I think more ‘Funeral in Berlin’, myself, but a fine haunting tune. Good spot, Dodge, mate! An Eastern Europe spy vibe that then turns into a similar sound to a band that few people but me have heard of called 'Telex' who had a top e.p. out a couple of years back. ’The Driver’ is the favourite of a couple of my mates, starting off once more with chiming guitars, this time so ‘chimey’ I thought a psychotic Avon lady was at the front door, pressing the doorbell for all it’s worth! A fine tune, but not enough minor in it for this brooding old man in black… Finally ‘Frantic Below’ is a quiet, loud, quiet, loud affair, with melodies so uneasy sounding they’ll keep you gripped until the loud bits, which are even more disquieting: A good thing, if you ask me, reminding me a little of ‘Scars’, a Scottish band from the post punk era, dearly loved by this Manchester bloke. I’d give this a nine out of ten. It’s getting on for nine in the evening. I’ve had a hard day at work and I’ve been writing this since I got in at seven. I’ve not even had my tea yet. You expect me to dish out a ‘10’?! Bless all you Kats and kittens out there. Brom out x
on 3/20/2007, 9:48 pm
195.92.168.166
Here it is: Amateur but hopefully not too amateurish!
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