audiobooks
Astro Tough
Heavenly Recordings
Youโre at the wrong listening party if you’re anticipating London duo audiobooks will deliver songs with comprehensive narratives and linear structure. On Astro Tough, the languid reference points of their subject matter form and evaporate as unpredictably as the beats.
The cowgirl bebop computer blues of โTrouble in Business Classโ epitomizes why their counterintuitive logic works. Vocalist Evangeline Ling paints just enough details about โcompeting with the aura of a tidy rich man/on the way to L.A.โ before disembarking to a cosmic flange guitar send-off from the duoโs other half, David Wrench. Wrench is a versatile electronic music producer, hearkening the synth-pop of bands like Talk Talk, Roxy Music, and OMD in โFirst Moveโ and the Kraftwerk/New Order/Ladytron blueprint in โThe Doll.โ He never repeats the same trick.
Lingโs experience as a visual artist and fashion model equips her to inhabit a wide range of personae with a vocal delivery spanning Fiona Appleโs bruised warble, Mark E. Smithโs spoken-word deadpan, and the sneer of Elasticaโs Justine Frischmann. Sometimes, itโs too much. Including a shrill whinny, Ling employs no less than four different vocal tones in โFirst Move,โ one of which unfortunately exposes a limited upper register.
For many, โBlue Titsโ will signal time to turn down the volume, but Lingโs queasy, hilarious appropriation of the objectification of women resists silencing. Experimental guitar and jazz bass clash with a vocal that crosses Bjรถrkโs acrobatics with performance artist Karen Finleyโs outrage. The approach is obtuse, but their message is clear. When a childโs loss of her toy prompts a call to 911 in โThe Doll,โ audiobooks is reflecting on the disproportionate significance accorded to events we experience collectively then become pop culture.
By the time โBlack Lipstickโ rolls along, weโre sufficiently warmed up for the techno workout the trackโs beginning all but promises. Alas, the hammer never quite lands; instead, weโre treated to more of a modular synth jam with a trippy bleep solo commandeered by Nitzer Ebb. โHe Called Me Bambiโ mesmerizes until you realize Ling is apologizing for something she didnโt do but was done to her: โThe skyโs gone silent, my sun, my sonโs sorry…Is he sorry?/Well I donโt know, I am still sorry but truly do I know?โ Astro Toughโs singular yet relatable tunes unexpectedly bestow the gift of empathy.
Artistย Links
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: AUDIOBOOKS – ASTRO TOUGH
Charles T. Stokes