EP REVIEW
SIKTH
"HOW MAY I HELP YOU?"
(Gut Records)
1. HOW MAY I HELP YOU?
2. SUFFICE
3. TUPELO (Cover Of Nick Cave Song)
4. IF YOU WERENT SO PERFECT (Video)
This is the follow up release to the immense ‘Let The Transmitting Begin’ and the first release on Gut Records (home of Tom Jones). What initially strikes me is the sheer professionalism of this record. The artwork is outstanding, incredibly pop art and doesn’t at all look like it houses this brutal band.
First track ‘How May I Help You’ is a melting pot of stop, start rhythms and art-jazz guitar wizardry, underpinned with a monstrously heavy riff and near psychotic vocals. You can hear all their influences piled into this track, elements of Meshuggah and Mr Bungle pop up, but not at one point does it sound like a rip off of those bands. ‘Suffice’ is a reworking of an older Sikth track. Again, this track is just immense; I cannot put into words how good it is. The track twists and turns, the listener just doesn’t know what to expect next.
The real icing on the cake though is the Nick Cave cover ‘Tupelo’. The track shows a completely different side to the band. Mikee sounds much like Jim ‘Foetus’ Thirwell as he sneers Cave’s vocal lines. Any words that I write could not justify how epic track sounds. From it’s brooding bass line the tracks rise to a crescendo that shows just how talented these guys are. In conclusion, Sikth deserve to be massive.
9/10 - Dan Burton (5th October, 2002)
Transcripts From The Downtuned
www.downtuned.co.uk