There was a time before the Strokes (can anyone remember this far back?) when guitar music was having it’s last rites administered once more. Rock bands were so over, the future was to be found in the blurring of fashion, dance music and cold European accents known as ‘electro – clash’. With it’s stark, minimalist electro and techno beats combined with dead pan vocals and most importantly (to a frothing music media at least) one foot in the fashion world. ‘It’s the future’ they cried shoving two ton of Bolivian marching powder up their noses whilst literally tens of people followed them to the latest happening at Heaven nightclub. ‘It’s bollocks’ shouted back the discerning music fan upon hearing any of Fischer Spooner’s records and lo and behold the whole movement fell flat on it’s arse never to recover and 5 skinny boys from New York saved the music press’s blushes with their achingly cool guitar tunes.
Behind all the hype though there were some great records being made. In fact the record that started it all off, Felix Da Housecat’s ‘Silver Screen – Shower Scene’ featured Miss Kittin talking of ‘sweet seduction in a magazine / endless pleasure in a limousine’ in that wonderfully robotic Nico accent over Teutonic beats and a filthy electro workout. It was wonderfully sleazy record and the album it came from ‘Kittenz and the Glitz’ is an under exposed gem. Miss Kitten transcended the ill feted movement and went on to become an in demand DJ as well as working with a succession of dance luminaries such as Sven Vaith and most memorably The Hacker (check out the genius of ‘Stock Exchange’, in particular the Adam Sky remix).
‘I Com’ is Miss Kittin’s long awaited solo album and finds her broadening her musical palette without losing any of the cold charm or signature electro flourishes that made her so damn interesting in the first place. Opener and first single ‘Professional Distortion’ kicks off with (horror) a distorted guitar before unceremoniously dumping it in favour of harsh, minimalist beats before that voice kicks in over inflammatory electro stabs. Lyrically we’re back in the ice maiden’s euro trash world of limousines, exclusive parties and globe trotting all made to sound boring in the way only the truly cool can. ‘Requiem for a Hit’ carries on in a similar vein. ‘Show me your tits and lets make a hit’ states a rumbling male voice before Miss Kittin replies with ‘Would you mind to pump?’ before a throbbing synth throb set’s your body involuntary twitching. Utterly base / bass pleasures of the first order.
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‘Meet Sue by Sue’ continues the fine tradition of lyrical nonsense with a classic opening line of ‘Cars and girls know girls in a car’. Quite. It procceds to top this with a chorus of ‘Mitsubishi, Suzuki, BMW 123’. This matters not a jot obviously as when combined with the harsh Germanic accent and 100 mph beats it sounds like the obvious soundtrack to car crashes everywhere (possibly in a David Lynchian kind of a way). Auto erotica of the most disturbing variety. ‘Kiss Factory’ slows things down into a throbbing yet subtler area with a very tuneful sung lyric. A very competent singer she is too, adding a sultrier side to her repertoire. ‘Allergic to Myself’ continues the downbeat vibe but returns to the dead pan delivery.
The Hacker returns for ‘Soundtrack of Now’ adding a welcome techno element for a shimmering, clinical, grower that beams you straight to that 4am club moment. Whilst ‘Dub About Me’ drifts into …er… dubby waters, although topped off with a haunting spectral vocal that wouldn’t sound out of place with Massive Attack.
Elsewhere a cover of Indochine’s euro dance ‘3eme Sexe’ is less successful, With a French vocal and tinkling synths it veers close to trite and ‘Happy Violentine’ just drifts. Things pick up with the technologically paranoid ‘I Come.Com’ that should be on the soundtrack for a Terminator film (spiritually rather than realistically) and the record finishes with a whimper rather than a bang with ‘Neukolln 2’.
Although not wholly successful ‘I Com’ brings some much needed zest to a floundering dance scene and truly buries the ‘electro – clash’ nightmare. It also showcases a talent that kicks the one trick pony accusations into touch and reveals it’s creator to be an exciting and brave artist in her own right. Fair play to you, Miss Kittin.
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