Gina Birch: Trouble
Vinyl | CD | DL
Released 11 July
5.0 out of 5.0 stars
Raincoats veteran Gina Birch arrives back on the scene with her second album, a bold step from her solo debut I Play My Bass Loud, she is back with a bang with a head full of genre defying tunes. Wayne AF Carey reviews…
For those who aren’t familiar with The Raincoats they were a seminal group from the seventies who inspired the likes of Nirvana and Sonic Youth to name a few. If you need to know more, our very own Audrey Golden has a biography out later this month available here. I’ve recently become a convert myself but my attention now turns to Gina’s second album which is a rollercoaster of ideas and innovation from the mind of a true artist who dabbles with everything and then some…
Opening track I Thought I’d Live Forever is a fantastic starter, a trip hop delight that flirts with Portishead in Gina’s own unique style. It’s chock full of echoing vocals and moody cinematics that flow to a funky beat with a cracking Bond theme-esque chorus. It’s that good. Happiness is a weird bastard. More echoing lyrics and strange sounds from myriad instruments. It’s got lovely floating vibes and a nice rumbling bass moving in and out through the mellow sounds that creep on you like the taste of a witches brew. First single Causing Trouble Again is a shapeshifter of a namechecking song which I revealed here, yet after a few more listens I’ve noticed it’s a completely modern take on She’s Lost Control – Joy Division. Just listen and tell me I’m wrong. Curtis will be dancing in his grave and Hannett will be bodypopping on his mixing desk. It’s an angry futuristic feminist anthem.
Cello Song is just what it says on the tin. It’s cello backed with stunning vocals from Birch which takes me into the Roger Waters solo stuff from The Pros & Cons. It’s dark yet uplifting stuff that has me tingling inside. “Playing Russian Roulette with six bullets in the chamber” Boom. Keep To The Left goes all Trap from the start and has hints of Underworld and mid 90’s experimental techno / ambient. Distorted vocals and weird effects that make you wonder what Gina was on creating this one, especially when the shattered short guitar solo creeps in. Top as fuck stuff. Doom Monger is Gina’s exploration of dub and quirky shattered pop. A mellow funky number full of wonk and quirk that makes Bjork sound normal.
Don’t Fight Your Friends is another fractured piece which flirts with Dub Step and Trap and sounds like something crawling out of Willy Wonka’s nightmares. Sinister stuff that wobbles the speakers and gives Kim Gordon a run for her money and the Drum n Bass ending is barking mad. Nothing Will Ever Change That brings out the dark funk and takes Gina into future pop territory with flecks of Moloko on mushies coming to mind. Strange sexy sounds like nothing else around. Hey Hey is another dark bastard that messes with the head with the low bass noise and flickering electronics that kick into a trip hop beat and eastern vibes that shimmer and shine. Unnerving and chilling atmospheric vibes.
Sleep is a weird warped number touching on insomnia and infatuation. It’s all about the bass on this one, a spine tingling number with more floating vocals and quirky wonk. You just can’t compare it to anything else. It’s magic. Closing track Train Platform is the spoken word number, a dark piece that flickers with madness from the mind of Birch, in a trance at a train station. You can see the dark clouds above with that tabla sound and the eerie atmospherics that only Floyd could create in their heyday. It’s what some people would describe as nightmare music, yet it just fits with the glory of Gina Birch and her pinball mind which can take you in directions you can’t even imagine.
Gina has come up trumps with another fine album of weird and wonderful that isn’t easy listeing at first yet grows and grows. A masterpiece of modern art for the adventurous music lovers.
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Forewords by Wayne Carey, Reviews Editor for Louder Than War. His author profile is here
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