Sukilove – Drunkaleidoscope

Description

In a world where men are dominated by dubstep and co, a simple rockband can’t be satisfied anymore with only one drummer. That’s why Sukilove this time has not recruited one but 2 drummers for their new album, which live will probably result in a polyrhythmic monsterbashdrumbattle.

New record “Drunkaleidoscope” has one hand shamelessly grabbing sounds from a great big bag filled to the brim with old soul, young Talking Heads, clumsy No Wave and satisfied funk whilst meanwhile keeping an eye on some excerpts from the Warp catalogue and the unsteadier side of hip-hop. All of this, doused in a dim sauce of white boy guitar gymnastics and husky-drunk crooning shapes the new record of the Sukilove collective, “Drunkaleidoscope”.

We have already arrived at album number 5 for the Sukilove boys (men) and for frontman Pascal Deweze, the counter probably clocks in at about album number 15 (Quick run through the past : Metal Molly, Nemo, Mitsoobishy Jacson, Chirlin’ Fooks, Shadowgraphic City, Broken Glass Heroes,…) Pascal has recently turned 39, too old for out of control ambition and dubstep but just a tiny fraction too young for a mind-numbing mid-life record (maybe next year, sorry…).

It rarely happens that the Sukilove line-up stays unchanged for two consecutive records (this was only the case with “Good is in your bones” (2006) and “Static Moves” (2009)) and it isn’t the case here neither. Sukilove is actually more and more becoming a collective where members float in and out of duty, following the requirements of the album. Nobody of the former crew goes out of focus completely though: former bassplayer Pieter Van Buyten still occasionally replaces regular bassman Tim Vandenbergh but has also engineered “Static moves” in 2009. Keyboard player Antoon Offeciers is not in attendance this time (which is a first) but might be called back for later duty, who knows… Helder Deploige was the first leadguitar player for Sukilove (to be replaced by Sjoerd Bruil), did some bassplaying in the tours abroad (meaning : outside of Belgium/Netherlands) and has now been degraded to playing ‘second drumkit’. Main drumhoncho is still Stoffel Verlackt, who flatly refuses to quit.

Even more so than previous albums, the new record “Drunkaleidoscope” is leaning more heavily on texture, mood and especially rhythm, borrowing from the pulses and feels of electronic music but the song structures and arrangements still maintain a link with the traditional past. There has been a substantial tendency to steal and borrow from people like Autechre, Felix Kubin etc but where these demi-gods use(d) the new technology to create fresh textures in a digital environment, bypassing human shortcomings, this record tries to steer these new digital feels back into the realm of human sweat and error. Noticeably recorded in a small room with the traditional rock set-up (guitar/bass/drums) and surrounded by old microphones, these songs try to translate dance into very loud skiffle.

Regardless of taste – there is a chance that Sukilove has once again made a fresh and interesting album, an album which will rejoice the heart and mind of the white music nerd whilst entertaining his inner black booty. –