GSPIDER and Farah – Bruise Colour Blue E.P.

"I lay in the bathtub, as if i were dead. I lay in the grass as if I were dead. The trees have died, the sky is death. The wind blows over my skin, as cold as death. Empty houses of death."Cheery stuff then.Thankfully I'm up to the third track out of four of this short, short E.P. from GSpider and Farah. From the artists monikers alone, my first thought was 'Oh dear, the heads of TLOBF have finally fallen off the edge of sanity and sent me a grime album to review'. And after listening to this E.P. a few times, I can honestly say that I'd probably would have preferred the challenge. There isn't really anything exciting about the Bruise Colour Blue E.P. It's just a bit bland, with most of the music ending up sounding like a lazy, tired cross between Telefon Tel Aviv, Nine Inch Nails and in the case of opening track 'Bruise Colour Blue', Hadouken!. All random claps and snares, a few organic sounds here and there eventually add up to the same old electro edgy bollocks that anyone with a home studio set up and a decent set of plug-ins can do. Some of the synth sounds are also quite weak, the grimey bass on the verses of 'Bruise Colour Blue' in particular sounding quite tacky and cheap.The vocalist on this E.P., Farah Holly Nemat, is touted as 'a true gem lyricist and spoken word artist' by the labels press. And while she has a sultry, smooth voice that sometimes works across these three tracks and one remix, it can also come across as lispy and grating in equal measures. No more so as on 'Mojave', source of the lyrics that open this review. Almost whispered, the sound of her tongue on the roof of her mouth is so noticeable that it almost destroys the elegant, if slightly morbid, poetry. Diversity is also not one of Farah's strong points, and if it is, it's certainly not evident on this extended player. The songs are littered with optimistic phrases like 'All I ask of you is long term suffering, I will be with you in spirit, in the wreckage'.These songs are well produced, and clearly time has been spent perfecting the sounds and lyrics so they flow as perfectly as possible within and around their opposite elements. However, there isn't really much interest to be gleaned from this E.P., with all the tracks being far too similar. A certain sound attributable to the artist is fine, but when putting out such a small collection of music some variation is always appreciated. Having the last track as a remix is a bit of a cop-out too. Especially when the remix is very much, stylistically, running along the same vein as the previous tracks, and indeed the song that's being remixed itself. If this was sold as a single with two b-sides, listeners may be more forgivable to its one-track mindedness. Sadly though, as it isn't, we are left with what is quite a dry and soulless collection of anti-pop electronica that many people have already crafted to a much higher standard. 45%GSPIDER on MySpace Farah On MySpace