fuck buttons

by Kishan Callychurn
Wed, 2008/01/30 - London ICA
ARTROCKER RATING:
Hmmm. ‘Fuck.’ ‘Buttons’. On first glance, I wouldn’t blame you for immediately conjuring up images of horrific, pretentious art-school shite; but you’d be very, very wrong. Truth be told, the two Buttons – Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power – are responsible for creating some of most forward-thinking, edgy and intense music around at the moment; Aphex Twin would eat a small child if he could still produce experimental electronica like this.
Intentionally or otherwise, they’re a call to arms, a ‘fuck off’ to bland ‘oooh, please like me’ music that dares to call itself alternative...
One thing that distinguishes Fuck Buttons from the majority of live electronic acts is how fucking loud they are, and the ICA provides the perfect venue for their sonic explorations tonight. Opening with the deceptively tender chimes of ‘Sweet Love for Planet Earth’, the volume is soon so high that my brain is planning to sue me in the European Court of Human Rights for ruining its quality of life. But Fuck Buttons are not just loud for the sake of it – they use volume to create completely new sounds, growing from simple melodies that build up and up until they rip your ear drums out of your arse. Despite the stage set-up (consisting of a laptop, some old Casios and a Fisherprice Karaoke running through distortion pedals), Fuck Buttons are more like a pair of DJs slowly building up the crowd. They feed off them, giving out as much energy to the audience as they get back, and kick things up a notch when it feels right. This intuition makes their music very organic, something bereft in a lot of the toss that’s out right now. As the evening closes with the apocalyptic sonic assault of ‘Colours Move’, it’s clear that Fuck Buttons are not a gimmick. Intentionally or otherwise, they’re a call to arms, a ‘fuck off’ to bland ‘oooh, please like me’ music that dares to call itself alternative. Before, a description of Fuck Buttons live would possibly have included parallels to bands like Autechre, Big Black, Sonic Youth, the Jesus & Mary Chain and Mogwai, but tonight is conclusive proof they can be added to that list. Vital listening for anyone who likes music to challenge and inspire.

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