This Is Not TV spring 04.
Review of Usurper's "First Effort" cd-r.

There's an argument that runs along the lines of any act of deconstruction is also an act of construction. Usurper are no strangers to that way of thinking. The band feature members of Edinburgh-based art-rockers Giant Tank and 'First Effort' is a live recording made in Dundee last October. The sleeve reads 'Nigh-inaudible experiments with disabled instruments' - and thus, their high concept is revealed. A stringless guitar, broken cymbals, and a drum kit with no bass drum are all in there, punctuating the eerie silence with clunks, scratches and screeches. The odd, random noises blossom in the end into something impressive, if decidedly queasy. There's no songs as such but their 'listen - really listen' approach does work. It takes a few listens, admittedly, and it's not one to stick on in company, but you just know that if they were Japanese or German then several Wire journalists would have trampled over each other in an attempt to kiss their feet.

Craig Scott.

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