LIKE A STUNTMAN – Reduce (Highpoint Lowlife Records)
Posted: June 21st, 2005, by Simon MinterA 7″ packaged in a good-looking sleeve featuring photographs of what look like the fake trees you get to put next to your train set. Like A Stuntman are a lo-fi pop band with distorted vocals over fuzzy beats and rough guitars over Casio melodies. ‘Reduce’ fails to fully deliver – the self-conscious lo-fi-ness slightly overwhelming the tune and the song – but on the B-side ‘Homerun’, is great. Its Stephen Malkmus-style vocals float over a faux-epic miniature musical journey which builds and develops like a low-rent Brian Wilson offcut. It’s followed up with ‘Early career’, which should remind me of cool underground acts like Steward and Mahogany, but which instead reminds me of Blur’s knowingly simplistic pop. I don’t consider this to be a bad thing.
Simon Minter
Simon joined diskant after falling on his head from a great height. A diskant legend in his own lifetime Simon has risen up the ranks through a mixture of foolhardiness and wit. When not breaking musical barriers with top pop combo Sunnyvale Noise Sub-element or releasing records in preposterously exciting packaging he relaxes by looking like Steve Albini.
http://www.nineteenpoint.com