- Considering Can't Stop Shaking is released the same month as another new Profligate 12-inch, The Red Rope EP, it's not surprising that they have similar temperaments. Both plates blend industrial intensity, synth pop romance and rave-informed pacing so assiduously that easy categorization isn't possible. Nevertheless, there are a few key differences. Where Red Rope is introspective and despairing, Can't Stop Shaking finds Noah Anthony in a particularly extroverted mood as he unleashes two long-form cuts that are, thanks to their unremitting momentum, downright mind-altering.
The New Order-flavored title track (imagine a crunchier permutation of the "Blue Monday" template) is the most club-tailored thing Profligate has released so far. Shadowy and elegant, with a finely calibrated murmured chorus, "Can't Stop Shaking" actually feels self-conscious of its own superiority. It's more than a great tune; it's the sound of Anthony reveling in his bold command of what most of us would agree is a truly iconic sound. "Dormant" isn't as audacious. Yet its snarled interplay of corroded tape manipulation, furious synth patterns and abstract laments means it's significantly more complex. The piece contains the kind of heavy layering and ever-evolving motifs that reveal different dimensions with each subsequent spin.
TracklistA Can’t Stop Shaking
B Dormant