Customer Reviews

Street Horrrsing

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

 

 

Street Horrrsing is essentially one long trip. Every track bleeding into the next seemlessly (unless you're using a crummy music player which automatically puts a pause between each track, like I am), and from the opening notes of hope in Sweet Love for Planet Earth, you find yourself wading into an endless ocean of sound. The water getting deeper and deeper the further in you go, dragging you down and enveloping you completely before you even realize it. The occasional spot of brightness trying to rip through the all the noise and fear, but ultimately losing out to the darkness. But then finally, a light shines as you reach Bright Tomorrow, easily the most accessible track of the album. It grabs hold of this one little synth hook and doesn't let go, instead letting it build and build until there is just too much for it to support itself and it finally explodes into a fiery ball of distortion, noisy fuzz grinding away with the I'm-being-murdered screams pleading to be heard through it all. It's like a hand to grab hold of to pull yourself up from the depths, a hand that pats you on the back afterwards and makes you smile and think that you're going to be fine , before it pushes you back into that deep dark as it swells towards it's climax and finally gives way to the album's final track, Colours Move. By the time it begins, you're left flailing about madly in the waters, unsure of what exactly awaits you. The droning distortion is soon undercut by an almost tribal drumbeat which is soon joined by another cautiously optimistic synth part. Maybe you're really going to make it? The haunting, inhuman cries from the second track, Ribs Out, jump in as well, followed soon after by that ever-present screaming, and it all comes full circle. Everything sort of starts to make sense, you feel like you're a part of it now, and not a victim of it. And then it all cuts out and you're left with the sound of sunlight dancing on water until it just stops.
Then it's over. And you're left rubbing your eyes from the sudden burst of daylight, wondering "Did I just survive that?"

This just might be the ultimate drone album. The sound mixing is near-flawless. Each track contains plenty of layers, giving you a good assortment of cool-sounding noise to chew on. The "songwriting" (...although I hesitate to call anything here a "song") is also very strong for this kind of music; everything seems very deliberately arranged rather than a collage of random noises. Also to their credit, F*** Buttons manage to keep things musical for the most part, although there are the occasional bouts of tribal drumming and screaming over distorted sequencer loops. Even though these guys use nothing but keyboards and drums, there is a very definite doom metal vibe. I feel as though they're going for the same kind of effect Neurosis, Isis, and Jesu try for, but with a different instrumental arrangement and generally better mixing.

The best song on here is "Sweet Love for Planet Earth," which grows from a bell chorus reminiscent of Sigur Rós circa "Takk" to a thundering din of reverb and screaming. The whole album is great, though, and bleeds together into one big song. Recommended for anyone who likes long, droney songs that focus more on sonic texture than anything else. This is not "background music," though. You might want to listen to this in a setting where you can really focus on the sounds. Overall, I'd say this is the best release from '08 I've heard so far... and that I will be watching F*** Buttons' career with great interest.

I disagree with the other reviewer that thought this was a joke album to see if people would take it serious.

Reading about them you find that they started as a nihilistic noise band but then changed and added melody and rhythm.

No it is not the most ground breaking of noise bands and yes some stuff seems recycled, but overall it is a very wonderful effort. I would not say this is for everyone, or even most people, but for those that like experimentation, some noise with melody, a nice drool enticing trance state then check this out.

Definitely glad to have it in my collection, will be played frequently, love the sonic layers and where it takes me. Yes there is better, but this is darn good.

This album is stunning. Beneath the layers of noise and pulse, there is beauty and love. The album makes a bold statement of sound and sonics, and even human emotions. I can understand that many will not "get it"...but if you do, your in for one heck of an experience. Fantastic work and can't wait for a new album.

Great , entertaining, surreal. The show was groundbreaking for any eardrum. I'll post another review after i listen to the album. But man the sounds were just amazing.

Yes, this is a big slab of music to take. Yes, repetition is king. And yes, it's pretty darn noisy. But Street Horrrsing is worth grappling with. Context is everything with this record. Rarely, for example, has a simple 4/4 beat sounded so revelatory as on 'Bright Tomorrow' (in part due to the preceding barrage of 'Race You To My Bedroom/Spirit Rise').

Half-human, half-machine voices crop up, precise yet tribal rythyms make surprising appearances, and there's even an underbelly of poignancy to the whole thing. It invites both concentration and contemplation, and, if nothing else, it's worth getting just for opener 'Sweet Love For Planet Earth'. The track's build to its inevitable conclusion (via its pulsing, distorted guitar) never fails to thrill.

Street Horrrsing may seem quite rigid in its design, but there's certainly enough going on underneath to make it a journey worth taking.

First time round this album scared me lots. A cool heavy electronic pulse built into a demonic sounding rant, which was actually very hip and with it. Second track? Not too big on the tribal beats. Loved the trailing screams though. Sent chills up my spine.

The further the album got, the more scared I became. Sounds like you pick up a conversation between Satan and a burning soul in hell with your AM radio as you soar miles above the planet with your astral body. Sounds pretty cool right?

Hey, It's worth the cheese. Second time round I really started to dig it.

You'd think a noise band with this name would be fun.
These guys aren't doing much that is original, and what they are choosing to rehash and blend just isn't that great and deserving. The beats are dead before they repeat, and the repetition doesn't resuscitate them. The simplicity in the keyboard becomes obnoxious with the rotary, oscillator effect, and the fuzz and distortion might be a really good idea, but paired with the organ synth and its level in the mix, the effect becomes too much to stand sometimes, and you become a bit nauseous by the end of some of these tracks. I felt sea sick several times.
I think these tracks are hard to listen to while enjoying what you're doing (save "Bright Tomorrow"), if you're primarily focusing on the music, you'll be pretty bored, slightly annoyed (with the dolphin noises, and a.m. tube amp effects), and a little nostalgic as you glance over toward the "how long have I been listening to this" section of the player.
The reward won't come until the third or fourth listen, when the entire experience becomes a trance - a repetive loop in itself - but this meditative exercise is only for the musicianado.
I think this whole album is kind of a joke to see who takes it seriously, and perhaps I'm the sucker.

This album always makes me very happy. I think it's because all I can think about is two robots, getting it on soft and sweet and then hard and nasty. I would *love* to see these guys live. I be looking for them with Mogwai.

The entire album is built around what I think is one of the worst guitar sounds I've heard in a while. It's like the kind of distortion you get out of a crappy $45 distortion pedal like dod, digitech or behringer played through a 1980's solid state Peavey amp. The album itself is just noise for the sake of noise for the sake of noise... and extremely repetitive. Lingering on a sound or tonal sequence for minutes on end. To me this isn't being adventurous, it's a slacker approach to noise rock. Taking just a piece of a good idea and beating it to death.