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To say this release was hyped is a bit of an understatement. Previously these bedroom synth buddies caused mesmeric ripples at indie events in the lead-up to their 2008 debut Street Horrrsing. Glasto embraced them as 2009’s Tarot Sport appeared, their abrasive DIY noisewave brightened with a Screamadelica zing.
But it wasn’t until Olympians and Surf Solar were used in the opening ceremony at the 2012 Olympics that the public went Fuck Buttons bonkers. So what to do next?
Exactly this. A giant slab of brain-bending cinematronica funnelling 40 years of electro exploration, with thecontrols set to oblivion. Here’s how it plays out: opener Brainfreeze’s Sat In Your Lap percussion overlays a mechanical Metropolis treadmill; Year Of The Dog builds a house version of Terry Riley’s Rainbow… and The Red Wing takes Tom Tom Club for a stroll with Justice. Prince’s Prize fires arcade noises at Come To Daddy, then Stalker’s crushing menace melds with Hidden XS’s Michael Mann mentasm.
It’s all greatcoats swirling in slo-mo, fiery demons and ice-blue laser overload. That’s the movie in my mind, and maybe in those of the record buyers who put it in the UK Top 40 too.
