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WIRES!WIRES! - THE COLOSSUS....
Review with artist commentary written
by Shana Foley for Providence Beat Zine....
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While
this is a first time listen for me, I have heard about WIRES!WIRES! through the
locals here, mentioning that his live show is something to behold, even though
it's just Xavier Valentine, the creator, singing over an ipod looping beats and
melodies. After listening to some sample tracks on his myspace (
http://myspace.com/wireswires ). I developed an interest in this boy who's
turning electro into something serious and moody while still retaining a pop
attitude. Sadly, this is his last work as WIRES!WIRES! and Xavier is now
focusing on a project with boyfriend and film-maker Courtney Sell, noted for
his recent release "No Place Like Home". ....
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"The
Colossus" starts with a gothic string based clip brimming with strange
reversed orchestral hits. It's an appropriate opening which ends abruptly and
sets the scene for "A Nurse ( Blood Gadget Version )" where a
warbling vocoded voice runs up and down scales backed by a thick string
section. While the vocals are hard to decipher ( a trend that runs throughout
the entire release ) a few lines stand out "How could you cry a curse /
Like a mouth stung dry / When you're covered in white-hot light" and
"Your mother was a saint of silvery light twisting ribbons of steam from
her eyes" at which point a machine gun beat explodes over the strings and
a oscillating acid-arpeggio takes over. The song finales with a growing
distortion until a deep rumble is all that is left.....
When
I asked him about this track, as it was a standout to me, he said it was the
song that set the tone for the rest of the album for him:....
"I
feel as if there are rarely times when exactly what I have in my head is what
ends up being the final product. This is one of those few magical instances
where I created the exact ambience and drama I had pictured. I wanted the rest
of the album to follow in that songs footsteps of dark but hopeful explosions
of noise."....
The
album continues with a more pop track, which can be listened to on his myspace
called "The Hermit" fronted with italo-disco vocals and a driving
hip-hop beat.....
When
track seven rolls around, I'm pretty convinced of the WIRES!WIRES aesthetic and
am genuinely enjoying the atmosphere this album creates. There is a lot of
beauty here, and it's very clear that Valentine has had classical training. His
compositions, while simple, are melodically superior, they are catchy, but
certainly very experimental, and Snow Dune, more than any other song, proves
this point. A crystalline piano fronts the track, which is aptly titled. A wild
mandolin comes in halfway through the track blasting through all the chords
with an angular and unrelenting melody. ....
"The
song is about a girl totally in love with a boy who could really care less. The
unrequited love bit isn't very original, but the twist is the girl is absolutely
aware of how stupid she is for fooling herself, and maybe is a bit of a
masochist for it." says Xavier of the track, "The trick for me is
finding beauty in such bleak situations."....
When
the album finds itself at track 13 of the 16-track epic, I'm totally impressed
with vast amount of similar-but-different material. All these songs sounds
completely different, but none could be mistook at nothing other than
WIRES!WIRES! and are completely cohesive as far as their relationship to the
album. "WATER" is a pure electro pop track riddled with distortion
and zappy bass lines. A wild drum machine does the bulk of the work. And even
though there is no chorus to speak of, I still find myself humming sections of
this song.....
"The
lyrics, even though they're almost impossible to understand are from a short
story I wrote about a boy who's father is obsessed with education and sends him
to school to learn all sorts of different languages. He is from a sleepy
village and wants his son to be the smartest boy in the world"....
Right after WATER, we're at the title
track. The song actually sounds like a colossus stomping through the water and
rock. Xavier's reverbed voice commands "You want it all, why don't you
just take it?"....
Well,
I do want it all, and WIRES!WIRES! "The Colossus" totally delivers.
While indulgent, it's never annoying. It keeps you guessing, and is very conscious
of its aesthetic. For anyone who wants a dark album of hip-hop electro ballads
full of interesting noises and ideas, this is the album for you. It's instantly
accessible but ultimately very challenging and intellectual. ....
"The
Colossus is, in my opinion, my most mature work" says Valentine "and
maybe that is because it is my most biographical. I feel very naked when people
listen to it in front of me, but also very proud that I ended my musical career
as WIRES!WIRES! with this album. It's very melancholy for me, but very
rewarding."....
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