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May 15, 2005
We threw rocks at the sky
This Heat - Sleep
This Heat - Paper Hats
This Heat! What a great band name. First heard their stuff two years ago via my old roommate, it sounded like field recordings of hyenas ripping into a carcass + various ticking clocks moaning in pain, which = interesting, but not something I'd want to hear everyday. So I promptly forgot about them for a while until this past January, when Orbis Quintus posted an excellent little song named 'Sleep', along with a very compelling write-up. The song itself was a short, mechanical nocturne, full of frictional harmonies and rusty percussion (for a modern analogue, you need look no further than Animal Collective (or possibly the Fire Show, maybe), who have seemingly mastered the blending of noise/experimental instrumentation with pop melodies that This Heat effortlessly nails in 'Sleep'), and plus it's just catchy as all hell. 'So this is a thing called comfort/doesn't cost much to keep in touch'- priceless.
'Paper Hats', on the other hand, is a little more abrasive, a bit more adventurous. It starts with a heart attack-serious guitar loop that's paused by some cymbal/cowbell taps and Charles Hayward's (I think) aloof and distended vocals, "well/what did we expect?". Then the loop returns in a big way and Hayward starts screaming from the other room. Stage three is all calm vocals and a transition into the noisier portion, which itself gives way to a weird little Liars' 'This Dust Makes That Mud'-esque trepanation loop. There's some nice give and take between the tape manipulated guitar and the percussion at the end of the song, overlaps and fade-outs. 'Paper Hats' is just a tight goddamn jam.
Both these songs are from This Heat's 1981 album, "Deceit" (also their final LP), which is woefully out of print. I think These Records reissued a lot of the band's work in '01, but it looks like they're re-pressing the records now on a once-in-a-while basis. However, These has put up a page where you can add your name to an email list and they'll let you know when This Heat titles are available again. From what I remember, the packaging on the reissues is just immaculate, so they're definitely worth waiting for.
Posted by Kevin at May 15, 2005 03:43 PM
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