- It’s strange but true that total potheads can be total breaksheads (see: head shops that play/sell breaks comps, Freq Nasty). The two would seem to an odd couple, yet the sweet scent of ganja is ubiquitous at breaks shows, and now the two worlds collide again with Far Too Loud’s latest ‘Get High’ off their ‘Louder Than Life 2’ EP. Sampling the bogus anti-pot ad (“MARIJUANA KILLS”) from stoner epic ‘Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle’ is an inspired touch, kicking in with “I’m so high! Nothing can hurt me!” right after an Antipodean, glitch-happy buildup. The rest of the track is tech breaks to the max, with a fatty bassline, cyborg synths, and plenty of bleeping and blooping. It’s an (appropriately) uplifting track, the only downside being that it’s not altogether memorable, and feels a bit like filler.
Next is ‘Midnight’, which fares better despite having the odds against success stacked pretty high. Female vocals over breaks have a bad history, and the two simply make ill-matched bedfellows. It works with house, it works with trance, but sultry singing over chunky breaks is more often than not the audio equivalent of woman-on-manatee porno. Case in point: Anyone remember Hyper pulling production duties on Sugababes’ ‘In The Middle’ a few years ago? Didn’t think so. FTL’s ‘Midnight’, however, is certainly listenable (unlike the sound of a lady and her manatee getting it on) and even enjoyable. Jenny Bell’s got a great voice and FTL’s production is rock-solid – lots of subtle touches such as (what sounds like) African chants and synthed-up vocal wah-wahs that show the boys put in some serious studio time. Maybe too much time, though – ‘Midnight’ is just a tad overproduced, a bit too slick. No surprise, then, that there’s also a radio edit floating around out there. Someone call Annie Mac!
TracklistA Get High
AA Midnight