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Review: 'VENUS BOGARDUS'
'Spitting at the Glass'   

-  Album: 'Spitting at the Glass' -  Label: 'Five03 Records'
-  Genre: 'Punk/New Wave' -  Release Date: '9th February 2010'-  Catalogue No: 'F03 VB01'

Our Rating:
Ok, so I'm rather partial to a spot of post-punk no-wave art-rock, which is why it pains me when bands come on citing Sonic Youth, etc., and just don't cut it. As much as sound is important, attitude is what really counts. Being cool is imperative. Having not heard Venus Bogardus before, I'm curious to find out if they're as cool as other critics seem to think.

From the outset, the tense, adrenalized 'Judy Davis Lips' suggests that they just might be. 'Flat Planes' is primarily constructed around a single, simple riff, repeated and bludgeoned into submission in the way The Fall used to on tracks like 'Rowche Rumble' and 'Slates.' The approach is more Sonic Youth, though, with a slightly queasy, discordant and jarring feel. The tension builds on 'Scatter,' with a relentless beat and scuzzy guitar sound contrasted with a melodic dual vocal. And there's plenty more where hey came from.

What makes 'Spitting at he Glass' a great album is the way the band successfully achieve a fine balancing of tunefulness, pop sensibility and post-punk guitar racket, and longer tracks, such as 'Permenant Notice' which neither sprawls nor drags despite clocking in at over six minutes, are countered by concise no-wave punk-infused adrenaline bursts, the likes of the title track and 'Gulf of Mexico.'

It's not all noisy distorted guitar driven shit, either: 'Mouth to Hand' presents itself as a fairly straightforward - if lyrically offbeat - acoustic number. There's also an eighteen-minute experimental art-rock workout, in the form of 'Brett Smiley Pile-Up.' Somehow, rather than slide into self-indulgent tedium, it sits well with the rest of the tracks and holds the attention for the entire duration.

One thing's for sure, there's no lack of diversity or depth across the thirteen tracks on 'Spitting at the Glass,' but that isn't to say it lacks the unity or cohesiveness of a full developed album-length work. There's a consistency of quality and a kick-ass attitude that permeates every moment of the record. No two ways about it: 'Spitting at the Glass' is a cracking album, and Venus Bogardus are as cool as they come.
  author: Christopher Nosnibor

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VENUS BOGARDUS - Spitting at the Glass