New These New Puritans - "Navigate, Navigate"
A ways back we posted the centrifugal, darkly dissolving, flesh rippling video for These New Puritan's Mark E. Smith-barked "Elvis." Then we saw the Southend boys and gal listed more than a couple times by British experts to break out big in '08. Not bad hype for four 19 year olds. We're definitely fans, so we agreed. But that was even before we got a gander at monumental, 15-minute tune, "Navigate, Navigate." Holy. The song opens with shimmery pulses and synthesized jangles and loops, almost like you're headed into Kompakt territory, but then they jump into their more usual post-rock, retaining a looped, entropic-pop feel. Amazing stuff.
What's Jack repeating? We get "it's really strange," then it sounds like "we can go oceanless" or "motionless" -- both of which sorta work. The waves and escalating reps and of this one manages to make it feel bigger than Fucked Up's 18-minute "Year Of The Pig," unless you wanted to judge it on its political heart, pollsters: "Navigate" was written for a fashion show -- Hedi Slimane's Autumn 2007 collection for Dior Homme's Paris catwalk, to be exact -- while Fucked Up were talking about sex worker rights. Whatever, they're different sorts of bands, no? We hate to talk shit about '08 so early in '08 and therefore doesn't carry much weight, but this is definitely one of our favorite tunes of the New Year. You can take it home on the 12" of the same name, which also includes a remix by the loving hands of Loving Hand, aka DFA's Tim Goldsworthy.
The "Navigate, Navigate" 12" is out 2/5 and Beat Pyramid is out 03/18, both on Domino.
Posted at 1:06 PM
Tags: These New Puritans
Pretty solid tune...I know this sounds weird coming from a jamband fan, but they could have easily cut out about 5five to seven minutes and still produced an epic. In any event, these kids have talent. And that one in the front of that photo above looks like a dead-ringer combo of 1970s David Byrne and Charlie Korsmo in that Can't Hardly Wait picture.
Score = 0
this song is almost a year old at this point. and it's really long because it had to fit the fashion show.
don't be fooled by its beauty; their EP-to-be-released has leaked and it's absolutely terrible. they ruined their unique sound by clearing up the vocals and putting them front and center.
Score = 0
Sex workers... Models on the runway... aren't both whores plying their looks into cash? Politics are everywhere.
Awesome tuneage...
Ro ro, you're a glass half-empty type, aren't you?
MK (ultra)
Score = 0
not a glass half-empty type at all. in fact, for a while i would give TNP to any friend who would listen.
unfortunately, they cleaned up their sound to a point of self-deprecation. it went from thrashy and fun and unpredictably hard-hitting to clean and porous and, well, original.
it's just an unfortunate progression is all.
Score = -1
i didn't know they were 19 (or maybe 20 by now) but that explains their kinda 'fuck off' personality in this interview...
http://www.uncensoredinterview.com/artists/197-These-New-Puritans
Score = 0