Stunning Luxury

Album / Artist: Stunning Luxury / Snapped Ankles

Label: The Leaf Label

Reviewed: 7/5/2019

DJ Stace

General Comments / Release Notes

London-based post-punk Devo’s lovechild outfit’s second album. Uptempo, noisy, hooky, obnoxious, prancing, brash, electronic, kraut-rocky goodness.

Bandcamp release notes: Snapped Ankles have taken on the guise of the very agents of their community’s demise – the property developers and brokers who heat the market on the promise of Stunning Luxury. With their adopted warehouse habitat under constant threat, the woodwose have taken this sharp-suited incarnation in order to infiltrate. The resistance starts here.

FCCs: None

RIYL: Can, Wire, The Fall, Flat Worms, Bodega, The Moonlandingz

Play: ** 1 ** ,2, ** 4 ** ,5,6,8,9

Tracks:
1. **** Pestisound (Moving Out) 03:54 - Blipping beepy midtempo krautrocker reminiscence of Can. Killer spaz dance rocker.
2. *** Tailpipe 04:23 - Urgent, repetetive uptempo electronic rocker of the Devo variety.
3. * Letter From Hampi Mountain 04:14 - Uptempo, bleep blips, middle-eastern influences and post punk talk singing. Chaotic and barely held together. 4. **** Rechargeable 05:17 - Great song. Slow plodding marching intro speeds up to a Awesome abrupt Wait!, wait!, wait!, wait!… transition into a batshit crazy, frenetic, Kraut-pop masterpiece.
5. *** Delivery Van 04:04 - More electronic freakout Devo descendent blippy repetetive awesomeness.
6. *** Three Steps To A Development 04:54 - Odd instrumentation and killer, buzzy dumpy dance rhythm. Lots of wooden cowbell and a great walking bassline.
7. Skirmish In The Suburbs 04:59 - Ethereal Jean-Michel Jarre-style accompaniment to fuzzed out barely legible talking lyrics. Blips and beeps start at 1:50. Floats in and out of structure, with a dance rhythm for the last half. Good weirdness.
8. *** Dial The Rings On A Tree 04:56 - Synth heavy rhythm and spacey sound effects. Mid to uptempo Devoesque head nodder. Reminds me a bit of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by Byrne and Eno.
9. **** Drink And Glide 04:09 - Buzzing Moog and machine gun bass delivers a steady groove and gives way to an urgent Devo-punk lyrical delivery. Reminiscent of Jerkin' Back N' Forth
10. Dream And Formaldehyde 03:18 - More Jarre synth etherealness with a soft rhythm sneaking in to take over and turn it into a weird little space organ instrumental ditty. Great spaceship exit music.