Noise bands aren’t accessible. This is a pretty obvious reality. Grating blasts of feedback and elongated, non-melody-driven compositions aren’t the sort of thing that draws in most listeners.
But English experimental duo F--k Buttons prove that this notion might not necessarily have to be true.
(Warning: Explicit content below)
On Tarot Sport, the aggressive, rhythm-happy outfit couples their invigorating sonic explorations with more mainstream elements, crafting a product that’s more listenable than most anything else in the genre.
And while this feat would be impressive on its own, what sets the Buttons apart as perhaps the best noise act going right now is that they accomplish it with a thoroughly nonformulaic approach. Seldom are combinations of sounds used twice, making Tarot Sport captivating from beginning to end.
Opener “Surf Solar” is a tour de force, sticking close to the tricks that have defined the band in the past and building them together slowly into one monolithic whole.
A sparkling melody of high-speed chimes is set atop a throbbing club beat before cinematic waves of feedback slide in over it all in a repeating three-note scale. From this base a tribal rhythm of distorted drum and maraca and piercing arches of spacey synths transform the soundscape into a tense sci-fi backdrop that seems ready-made for a “Blade Runner”-inspired future epic.
But grandiose feats of hard-nosed craftsmanship aren’t the only things these two artists have up their sleeve.
“Phantom Limb” turns what should be an annoying array of clicking and warbling sound effects into a creeping exercise in rhythm management.
Like a hip-hop beat on steroids, distorted bits of undulating noise that sound like they came straight out of a ’50s alien movie are arranged painstakingly on top of a syncopated rhythm that just won’t quit. The result is a fun five-minute romp that accomplishes more than the sum of its parts should be able.
“Olympians” starts off sounding like a spectacular dance hit. Synthetic drums play an irresistible beat while ambient frequency modulation frolics above, giving the whole thing a glorious techno feel. But suddenly triumphant blasts of synthesizers come in, playing like a cathedral’s organ.
As the epic track continues to transform over its 10-minute span, it becomes like a futuristic church service with jubilant dance rhythms underscoring the grandiose melodic elements typical of religious music.
Impeccably constructed and endlessly energetic, it’s the kind of song that’s as appreciable for its ability to awe as it is for its capacity to entertain.
And that’s what makes the seven parts of Tarot Sport’s cohesive whole so incredible. They manage to combine typically divisive elements into arrangements that, at their most transcendent, become downright easy to listen to.
Noise is still a niche genre, and F--k Buttons are still clearly not for everyone.
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