Logo
DiS Needs You: Save our site »
  • Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alternative must sees 6 months ago
  • A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash 7 months ago
  • Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019 7 months ago
  • 25 years of SPOT Festival: DiS Picks Its Best 11 7 months ago
  • Twelve Hours Of Drone Is Just The Beginning: DiS Does Big Ears 8 months ago
  • IDLES Smash It In Sheffield 8 months ago
  • More bands announced for DiS partnered Fuzz Club Eindhoven 8 months ago
  • The Shape Of Punk To Come?: DiS Meets Crows 9 months ago
  • Logo_home2
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • In Photos
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Search
  • Community
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • Blog
  • Community

Controller Controller

History

Label: Sink and Stove

8742
Mike_Diver by Mike Diver June 30th, 2005

You'd be forgiven for mistaking these six tracks (the opening thirty seconds of electronic fuzz can be discounted as a song) for a stopgap offering from Seattle punk-poppers Pretty Girls Make Graves, such are the similarities between this Canadian quintet and their south-of-the-border peers. Both operate as five-pieces with the sole woman up front on vocals, and both ply a fine line in accessible art punk. Problem is: haven't we already heard this all before, and a few years ago at that?

A fellow journalist (and friend) compared Controller.Controller to both Joy Division and Yeah Yeah Yeahs; frankly, I've not the faintest idea where he heard the merest trace of either. History, however accomplished and polished it is (and it really is_ polished; producer Rob Sanzo clearly knows his buttons), amounts to nothing but a so-hot-right-now dance-punk EP with more than a whiff of both the aforementioned PGMG and the spiky disco beats of The Faint and Q And Not U. While that's a decent on-paper recommendation of sorts, C.C's failing is that their glossy studio sheen more or less laminates any soul that wished to escape from songs that sometimes come close to sounding desperate and urgent only to chicken out and stumble into complacency and convention. Vocalist Nirmala Basnayake says that _"if things can go wrong, they'll only go wrong" on 'Silent Seven'; these ears are sorry that things didn't go a little more awry.

As a debut, History is a decent enough effort. Thinking long-term, though, Controller.Controller are going to have to discover some ideas of their own if they're to progress beyond favour-of-the-moment appreciation.

  • 6
    Mike Diver's Score
Log-in to rate this record out of 10
Share on
   
Love DiS? Become a Patron of the site here »


LATEST


  • Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alternative must sees


  • A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash


  • Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019


  • 25 years of SPOT Festival: DiS Picks Its Best 11


  • Twelve Hours Of Drone Is Just The Beginning: DiS Does Big Ears


  • IDLES Smash It In Sheffield



Left-arrow

Drunk Horse

In Tongues

Mobback
8740

White Rose Movement at Camden Barfly, Camden Town, Tue 21 Jun

Mobforward
Right-arrow


LATEST

    Festival Preview


    Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alterna...

  • 106137
  • Interview


    A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash

  • 106136

    Festival Review


    Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019

  • 106135
  • Festival Review


    25 years of SPOT Festival: DiS Picks Its Best 11

  • 106134

    Festival Review


    Twelve Hours Of Drone Is Just The Beginning: Di...

  • 106133
  • Live Review


    IDLES Smash It In Sheffield

  • 106132

    Festival Preview


    More bands announced for DiS partnered Fuzz Clu...

  • 106131
  • Interview


    The Shape Of Punk To Come?: DiS Meets Crows

  • 106123
MORE


    feature


    DiS meets Justice

  • 27270
  • feature


    Panic Prevention: At the drink with Jamie T

  • 14183

    feature


    The Knife: Swedish purveyors of alien synergy

  • 27337
  • Column


    DiS Does Singles 22.04.13: Daft Punk, Savages, ...

  • 89944

    DiScover


    ReDiScover: Low

  • 12734
  • In Depth


    Lou Reed: An Eu-lulu-ogy

  • 93330

    DiScussion


    Emo? Twee? In unnecessary defence of Neutral Mi...

  • 93713
  • Interview


    Ace of Bass: DiS Meets Royal Blood

  • 97097
MORE

Drowned in Sound
  • DROWNED IN SOUND
  • HOME
  • SITE MAP
  • NEWS
  • IN DEPTH
  • IN PHOTOS
  • RECORDS
  • RECOMMENDED RECORDS
  • ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
  • FESTIVAL COVERAGE
  • COMMUNITY
  • MUSIC FORUM
  • SOCIAL BOARD
  • REPORT ERRORS
  • CONTACT US
  • JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
  • FOLLOW DiS
  • GOOGLE+
  • FACEBOOK
  • TWITTER
  • SHUFFLER
  • TUMBLR
  • YOUTUBE
  • RSS FEED
  • RSS EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
  • MISC
  • TERM OF USE
  • PRIVACY
  • ADVERTISING
  • OUR WIKIPEDIA
© 2000-2019 DROWNED IN SOUND