Self-styled multi-instrumentalist star-in-waiting TOM VEK'S previous single "If You Want" was a likeably languid skank suggesting an intriguing deviation or three from the current, angular post-punk norm. W&H immediately stored him away in the 'one to watch' file and awaited further developments.
Due to the late arrival of an errant photographer, your reviewer then furstratingly managed to miss the majority of Vek's set opening for Graham Coxon at the recent NME-sponsored gigs at Hammersmith Palais, but the tune "I Ain't Saying My Goodbyes" stands out from what we can recall from his spell onstage, and on record it's every bit as good, marrying uber-skinny white funk guitars, elements of PIL's abrasive dubnology in the both the bassline and vocal departments ( where Tom affects a curiously Lydon-esque whine) and the expected, discofied drumming. Culled together, it produces a surprisingly satisfying whole which waves at touchstones such as the Gang Of Four and The Rapture without ever obviously pilfering from either. Which, obviously, is a rather good thing.
Hang around for the flips as well. "Don't Jump" is the first, and it again revels in its' brittle, glassy funk, this time tipping its' hat to "Fear Of Music"-era Talking Heads, even down to the way Tom delivers David Byrne-ish lines like "Please don't jump into the bed of a stranger, I can't control myself" with more than just a hint of psychosis. Whatever, it's all good, as is the wobbly electronica of the closing "Summer Fall." This time, Vek's voice is compressed and shambolic and he lurches around like Mark.E.Smith trapped in the drunk tank with Dominic Masters' loud-hailer. "If I ever ask for anything in life, it would be your eyes recorded on a super 8 film," he slurs, before sagely admitting "summer doesn't taste like summer anymore." Well, no, of course it doesn't. Don't you know we're living with global warming? C'mon Tom, time you got out more, my boy!
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Seriously, though, "I Ain't Saying My Goodbyes" is a streamlined and anthemic single and serves us further persuasive notice that unassuming studio genius Tom Vek can happily translate his technical ability into genuine pop cool. His album "We Have Sound" is only just around the corner too. We shall be earmarking that one as soon as possible.
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