Customer Reviews

Crumb Duck

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I don't know the exact processes by which these tracks came into being, but it's probably a good idea to clear up a misconception about 'Crumb Duck'. I've heard it said (though not here) that it's a split, with tracks 1, 3 and 5 being NWW material and tracks 3 & 4 Stereolab. The fact that Stereolab's 'Refried Ectoplasm' collection contains those two tracks may have reinforced this. In fact all the tracks are collaborations of one sort or another. I don't know if they're mutual remixes or what, but 'Exploding Head Movie' and 'Animal or Vegetable' or certainly reworkings of the Stereolab songs 'Jenny Ondioline' and 'Golden Ball' respectively.

Anyway it's a great Labby Wound or Nursey Lab record, however you look at it. It might seem an unlikely meeting, but Stereolab were in their most experimental (and arguably most interesting) phase; NWW fans who like 'Crumb Duck' but don't know Stereolab should check out 'Transient Random Noise Bursts With Announcements'. The two also got together on the single 'Simple Headphone Mind' which is almost as good.

I am definitely a Nurse With Wound fan more than a Stereolab fan, not that i don't thoroughly enjoy Stereolab. This pairing of two great bands is amazing. This, to me, rivals even his collaborations with David Tibet (of Current 93 fame). The cd starts off with two amazing NWW tracks, that will just blow you away. But be ready for the beauty that is created in tracks 3 and 4. Stereolab's pop-ness combines so perfectly with Stapleton's noise. And the vocal...ahh the vocals...

When I first became aware of this cd I thought it was a bit of an odd pairing. The two groups, in my head, didn't seem to go together. But, once I heard this cd I have no idea why I originally thought that. It makes perfect sense! But then again, what involving Stapleton doesn't make sense?

My favorite NWW disc was always Chance Meeting...(the first NWW release). But this disc definitely rivals that right now for me. Definitely pick this up if you are either a Stereolab or a Nurse With Wound fan, or a fan of experimental electronic music, you will not be disappointed.

Being a big NWW fan, I'll buy just about anything with the NWW name on it. I hadn't heard Stereolab before, so this CD was a good chance to make up for it. I'm not at all disappointed, as this is a great little EP.

The album has an interesting mix of styles that gels. "Steel dream March..." sets a 'Nursey' tone for the album - jittery, throbby beats and the usual accompaniment of melodic and white noise interjections. "The Dadda's Intoxication" then settles us into a standard NWW industrial ambience.

What sets this album apart from other NWW offerings is the relatively melodic middle tracks with Stereolab - "Exploding head movie" is almost a pyschedelic ballad. Not much development happens but it rocks! "Animal or vegetable", at first a laid-back Stereolab chant with a 'distorted-Hammond-organish' background, suddenly morphs into a beat-driven Krautrock-like romp, before morphing again into typical NWW chaos (including distorted mini-reprises of the "Exploding head movie" main theme).

"A new dress" is a quirky story of a very special dress, with a stark minimalist intro and accompaniment (including a harmonica - go NWW!) that will probably pall on repeated hearings, but does elicit a chuckle or two.

A good buy and a must for a self-respecting NWW collector! (well they all are, aren't they?!)