Review: Originally released in 2008, the Swiss industrial rock pioneers have reimagined their past material with instruments you'd likely find people tapping away at around a fire in Glastonbury - it's a far cry from the avant-rock high-voltage set up we're used to seeing with them. Nevertheless, they pull it off brilliantly. On 'Our House' they marry the Hang with unhurried arpeggio picking that sounds like a homage to the original Spanish guitar. 'I'm The Drug' takes a hypnotic, desert-rock approach and is adorned with jaw-dropping lead guitar runs. With this album a celebration of the acoustic guitar, it's fitting that they pay tribute to one of the all-time gods of the instrument: Richie Havens. They do justice and then some to his iconic cut 'Freedom'. A track that Havens famously performed at The World Says No To War in Iraq demo in New York City in 2003. The raw delivery that The Young Gods muster with their cover shows they have sincere affinity with said legend and are truly commanding of the stage even with more humble gear.
Review: Terry Riley's 'In C' had a huge impact on 20th Century music, first presented in 1964, it sounds out of this world, even today, and is as fixated on creating a musical impression as it is the technical rules it insists upon to achieve that - 53 phrases, each musician allowed to repeat theirs as many times as they like so long as they do things in the order they first appeared, making success reliant on listening to each other.
The Young Gods may not have such frameworks, but nevertheless also greatly effected countless other artists. They're a band that - to paraphrase LCD Soundsystem - really did sell, or maybe swap, their guitars in favour of synthesisers, their innovation cannot be understated. Here, then, they offer a new interpretation of Riley's conceptual masterpiece, following his rulebook while somehow managing to make it all new.
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