I kid you not, the new Errors mini-album is coming out on VHS. I
bet they were tempted to put it out on Betamax. While part of me quite likes
this, part of me thinks it's some kind of douche move. Why not just put it out
on dvd? Who's even got a video player these days? Why not put it out on cinefilm with accompanying 8-track?
Mercifully, there is a digital download link included if you opt
for the old magnetic tape. Though you can't physically hold a download. Maybe
videos are just cooler in that way that vinyl is just more tactile, better to
hold, better to look at, and just has more balls.
Oh yeah, there's some music involved here too. New Relics sees our
synth heroes, Errors, taking a wee jaunt into space. Or maybe it's just because
I'm writing this review while watching The Next Generation, when Q turns up and
introduces Picard to the Borg. Classic. This record's like that; someone
turning up and chucking a big alien cube in your face - resistance is futile,
you will be assimilated.
Riker, Worf and Data are away over to the Borg ship to kick some
ass now. I always liked Riker's beard.
Errors have been leading the way for a few years now, and New
Relics does little to change that. It feels progressive but still undeniably
Errors. The whole thing is imbued with a psychedelic wash that feels natural
for the group. New Relics is a cohesive, thematic record, that brings you along
with it. You're off on a wee adventure, be cool.
Ammaboa Glass is ace. A total beast of a track and if you don't
lose your shit at 2.14, you're not human. It moves onto Relics, a track
that builds on layers of synth and floaty vocals. Like lying on a big mound of
jelly under a totally clear midnight sky. You'd probably sink slowly, being
enveloped by the delicious strawberry jelly until you face no option but to
start eating your way out, back to the stars. This album's like that, it's
comforting but a bit sinister and all the time it's utterly compelling.
I'm just listening to it again while I read over this and White
Infinity is another great track. There's a wee synth part that drops in near
the start that's just thrown away like it ain't no thang. IT'S A BEAST OF A
SYNTH PART! Errors just drop it in and ditch it, they don't need it. The song
drifts along on nice synth swells and more heavily reverbed vocals, then it
fades out. And it's ace!
The album feels like a continuation of tracks like Pleasure
Palaces off Have Some Faith In Magic, rather than the stomping Tusk. That's no bad
thing; while Tusk is my favourite track on that album, it doesn't feel
challenging or different. To be fair, neither does this but it's at least it's
not a bunch of pale skinny guys with guitars, doing post-rock with an added
synth. Errors were always more than that.
My only issue is that, like the VHS and Riker's beard, the sound Errors
have crafted here will always have a certain class, it'll always be cool, but
will it be looked on as a bit too sculpted and stylised? I don't think so. Errors
are orbiting, the journey's begun and it feels pretty good from up here.
New Relics by Error is out October 1st on Rock Action
Records.
DO
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