Goodness, how times change. Not so long ago, any release by any act being billed as ‘the latest signings to DFA!’ would be feverishly anticipated by everyone everywhere, purely by virtue of their association with James Murphy’s lot. Yet following on from three years of copycat ‘dance punk’ business and, more recently, the label’s one – just one! – disappointing release (first British signings Prinzhorn Dance School’s debut), right now being ‘the latest signings to DFA!’ – as Shocking Pinks are – somehow just don’t carry the cachet it used to.
This though, actually works in the favour of Nick Harte (sole proprietor of the name) and his debut long-player for two reasons. Firstly as this is merely a remastered compilation of the super-lo-fi stuff he’s already put out on New Zealand label Flying Nun rather than an actual album, the relative lack of fanfare seems appropriate. Secondly – and more importantly – because they’re so un-DFA, and so obviously in thrall to the soundscapes of My Bloody Valentine and the drone-pop of Sonic Youth rather than anything even vaguely danceable, these songs take you by surprise.
Often little more than bedroom sketches, rarely stepping over the three-minute mark, they make up for what they lack in production values and length with a sense of intimacy and the sort of ramshackle charm people seem to think Pete Doherty’s ‘work’ exudes. ‘This Aching Deal’ is how Bloc Party sound in their heads; ‘Blonde Haired Girls’ and ‘I Want U Back’ are Mary Chain-style feedback-pop mini-gems; ‘The Narrator’ sounds like Ride discovering synthesizers, and ‘Girl On The Northern Line’ is positively, like, ethereal. You get the picture: it’s all very dreamy, with mumbled sky/high/fly/don’t know why-style vocals and, with 17 tracks clocking in at 45 minutes, lots of it.
‘Shocking Pinks’, then, is exactly the sort of record that DFA should be putting out: in tune with their aesthetic but also in a world of its own.
