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doublejoHngrey

Life's A Lot Of Fun EP

Label: Valentine Records Release Date: 28/06/2004

6365
domgourlay by Dom Gourlay July 22nd, 2004

Ever since messrs Curtis, Sumner,Hook and Morris laid down the discordant beats and repetitive, incisive bassline that were to become 'Disorder', the definition of "Punk Rock" would be changed forever. The dissonent renaissance that was Joy Division didn't just re-submit the rules of the game, they moved it out of the local park and into a stadium fit for kings.

Now, over 25 years later, another group of quasi-Mancunians - born and bred in the not-so-glamorous suburbs of Stockport and Burnley - have created an erstwhile masterpiece that reeks of burnt-out cars, piss-reeking tower blocks and Friday night's kebab wrappers and sounds like an evolutionary pipedream of fear and loathing in... Whalley Range?

It opening with the title track, but don't let it make you think that all is well and rosy in doublejoHngrey's overgrown and litter-strewn garden. 'Life's A Lot Of Fun' is what Primal Scream's 'Miss Lucifer' would have sounded like if they'd been ingesting troughs of prozac through cracked crackpipes instead of, well, crack. It's the sound of The Beta Band waking up on a desert island and realising there's no sand.

'Long Song For The Broken Hearted' meanwhile is possibly doublejoHngrey's nearest foray into the same quadrant of synth-pop heaven that Depeche Mode and New Order have graced in equal measure for the last quarter of a century, made all the more special by vocalist Jon Farnworth's carefree deadpan encore of "He said if I didn't laugh I'd cry". Almost genius.

'Broadcast' and 'Former Captives' resound with the sentiment of a long-undiscovered historical artefact. Anyone for the stripped-down beats of primitive techno? Queue here.

Whilst comparing this six-track EP to the incandescant glories of Joy Division may be viewed as mission impossible to some, the potential for greatness is there for all to see (and hear). Our intrepid cousins from the other side of the pond have given us the likes of Interpol and the Secret Machines; now it's time for the city that gave us the first masters of industrial innovation to offer a fitting riposte.

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