Album Review - Precurxor

Precurxor

by Curxes (out now)

I had some trouble deciding whether to write something about the latest release from Curxes. They are a duo I adore, their sometimes spooky, sometimes spine tingling, always fabulous sounds have been circling my space for a while now, always making me wish for more. With this in mind, how could I write something non-biased about them, something non-gushing about a band I hope have giant things to come and more recognition than they ever dreamt of? With this in mind, I came to the realisation that this is exactly why I should write about them, after all, a couple of years ago, trawling the internet listening to things, looking at things and doing what a lot of people would consider wasting time, I stumbled across their sounds which immediately resonated with me, via another music blog. I write on a music blog and why do I do that? To share my love of music with whoever happens to read, so if that means I get to introduce the sounds of Curxes to someone else the way they were introduced to me, I'm a happy blogger. Welcome to Precurxor.


Clever little things they are, releasing a (mini) album of previous material, a collection of songs from 2010 - 2011 and calling it Precurxor (get it? Pre-curxor? No? Oh dear. Nevermind.) This seven track album, was a great little surprise for me, being on the other side of the planet and really having only discussed their material post 2012. Not only is it as awesome as I find all of Curxes material, it's also an education into how musicians grow and develop with time. Something a lot of bands should be proud of and not hide in the depths of their deleted soundcloud and youtube acounts.


The seven songs are a good introduction to what Roberta Fidora and Macaulay Hopwood once called themselves;  "a decorative set of bones, channelling the ghosts of discothèques past", which was a perfect line for a band's bio, but also a really good description of what some of their material has actually sounded like. Not borrowing but paying tribute to sounds from the not so distant past in tracks like 'Jaws', 'The Consructor' and 'Once Upon A Time' give a real indication of how talented this duo are, they know their music history, they know what they like but have the ability to take their influences and make them their own; Macaulay's incredible skills on various instruments shining on 'Creatures' and Roberta's vocal a shining beacon of light over the darkness and doom on tracks like 'Lightness'.


Having said all of this, perhaps one of the most intriguing and interesting things about Precurxor and much of Curxes material is something that can often be overlooked in sounds like the 'blitz-pop' that they make. While we all get lost in the interesting collection of new beats and the slightly unusual assemblage of noise, the lyrics are fascinating, sometimes light, sometimes dark, often confusing and that's what makes them fantastic. 'Spires', the perfect example of hidden thoughts behind the voice; "sometimes, sometimes the brave are free and gloriously dead..." Roberta has such a compelling ability to carry the perplexing words and make them dance across the top of all they create and there is a selfish satisfaction in listening, knowing and enjoying it all. Sometimes that selfish satisfaction is exactly what music should be, for both the artist and the listener.


As a musician creates for their own sense of musical selfish satisfaction, in my own way I blog about it to share the same thing. Some days it's hard finding the right words to share and some days there are sounds like Curxes and those sounds make me a happy blogger. Welcome to Precurxor.

Jo Michelmore gives Precurxor four budgie heads out of five...