I'll admit I entered Gape Attack!'s
delightfully designed opus with a woody for this sort of moody,
synth-framed post-punk music, but I'm sure it won't be just me who
digs these lo-fi exploits.
This trio knows how to pump out the bestsort of vague, midnight pop anthems,
layered in tape fuzz but still beaming with melody. They seem most
attached to the detached side of post-punk, leaning towards the
coldwave/French new-wave scene, as is obvious in the alienated
vocals and swirling synths of "Flight Plan," which would slot nicely
on a bill alongside Deux or similar early eighties French
acts. Witness the band at their best on dance-floor stomp-romp "Be
With Me," a crafty slice of vaguely Gothic eighties pop freedom; I
can imagine a high school band pumping this out at a 1984 Hallowe'en
dance, the audience bopping
along groovily. Other moments worth noting
include the Joy Division-Tears For Fears-Echo & The
Bunnymen mash-up of "OD," devilish, 8-bit adorned "Zombie
Attack," and winding, climactic instrumental "Dunne." Only
disorganized "Fetal Position" really disappoints,
but that's small potatoes.
Extra sweet: this comes with a
gnarly poster that you'll hang in your room. Dig it!