Saturday, January 31, 2015

Song of the day

"Disappearing Ground", by Group Rhoda.





















We can only assume that Group Rhoda really mean it (man), as the only bandwagon they could have been accused of catching left the station a couple of years ago. But, "cold wave", "minimal wave", or whatever wave-adjective you want to throw at this music, Group Rhoda most definitely have the sound of early-eighties cassettes-by-mail synth music in their veins. Ancient, cantankerous synths sit on top of a rudimentary drum-machine track and some kind of Snakefinger/Suicide rhythm bed, bolstering the affectless singing of a lone female vocalist. (The eponymous Rhoda? I don't know.)

A whole album of this could well drag, and there are moments when the vocals drift a bit too far into Space Lady territory, but in small doses there isn't anything not to like.

There is even a synth patch (is that the right word?) that comes straight from the Stinky Fire Engine playbook. See if you can spot it.