NickFRESH just found this old post from October, and commented on how much he needed this tune. I am happy to oblige...
Freur predated Prince in one special way - the use of a glyph as their name. Look at the cover above - the circle with the zig zaggy line coming off it is the band's name. It was a silly gimmick, and one their label knew would make it hard to sell records, so they asked them to change it. Instead, the band then came up with a way to pronounce the glyph - Freur. Freur are also notable because it's the earliest recordings of Karl Hyde and Rick Smith, who of course went on to become Underworld, the titans of '90s electronica. The music here is a mix of prog rock and synth-pop. It seems like a deadly combination, but somehow on the tune Doot Doot (12" Version) it works for me. The vocals are classic Karl Hyde - the cadence, the way he sings words - it's all there. The song was a minor hit in the British charts, and I've always loved it's oddness. It still sounds pretty good today, although the drums at the end are a bit dodgy in that gated, '80s syn-drummy way. Its a nice bit of psychedelic pop that slowly builds from trippy, cricket chirping mellowness to full on, blip laden proggy pounding. The band failed to have any kind of real success, split up, and Karl and Rick went on the form version 1.0 of Underworld. The rest is history.
No comments:
Post a Comment