November 4, 1998
Taking A Chance On Chances
The independent UK underground has never really been about tunes....
6 / 10
THE INDEPENDENT UK UNDERGROUND HAS never really been about tunes. Its quest has been for a direct connection from the heart to the ear, where the middleman - music - is usually bypassed. Occasionally, though, a record manages to make the marriage, and hold a groove. This collaboration between crusading Newcastle indie label Slampt and New Jersey DIY label Troubleman is one such hen's tooth.
Not that 'Taking a Chance...' doesn't maintain its quota of unlistenable guff: the UK's Bilge Pump, Witchknot, Missy X and Small Black Pig do the honours here. But although the post-grrrl racket of Bette Davis And The Balconettes and Full Boney is hardly hummable, the courage of its convictions - and the volume of its amps - are persuasive.
This compilation's selling point, however, is its Stateside input - the American bands being capable of translating gut feeling into note form. So all the hardcore-derived US outfits here rock - the Peechees punkily, Monorchid like a baby GVsB, Young Pioneers with a vengeance and the Fall-inspired Computer Cougar pithily - while the Brits, stuck in C86, don't. The slo-fi of Old Hearts Club (US) sounds like rocket science compared with International Strike Force (UK), while the proto-techno of Replicants (US) shames our underground's fixation with ropy lo-fi as counter-cultural soundtrack. Overall, though, with honours, a
To read all our reviews first - days before they appear online - check out NME magazine, on sale every Wednesday
For the latest music videos and backstage interviews, check out our sister site, NME Video.
Comments do not always reflect the views of NME, or IPC Media, for guidelines visit our Ts & Cs page