My first treat this week is a 7" by new 4 piece Stricken City which gives top double header satisfaction. There's a portion of early New Order guitar on 'Tak o Tak' , a catchy drum rhythm and some swooping, charmed ladyvox that recall Harriet from The Sundays. It's a clean, fresh & satisfying tune that soothes rather than totally excites as does the flip 'Bardou' which is definitely learning something from the Young Marble Giants school of minimal, ethereal suspense (but not quite that unique & magical!!) I think they've got something cool about them, a kinda timeless, fluid sound, both atmospheric & cerebral without just insisting on obvious hooks. They create quite a reflective mood with their minimal chords & esoteric grace than the usual frenzy of throwaway pop, that's why I feel there's more to these than many bands brandishing their debuts recently. Includes free feather.....
