With smatterings of Lemon Jelly about their hushed electro-pop music, Cartwheel bring a fresh dynamic to Valentine Record’s up-tempo back-catalogue. All the way from Melbourne, Australia, Cartwheel fuse together ambient grooves and lo-fi guitar picking, conjuring up blissful moments of downbeat aural assaults. Whilst their music might not be the most rousing or uplifting around, it is rather good for chilling out to.
There’s an obvious Kraftwerk influence, just look at the EP title for starters. Third track ‘Fall Apart to Stay Together’ has some luscious, understated vocal parts and haunting electronic moods that make it an impressive listen. It is difficult to pick a highlight off this EP, as the brief pause between each track makes the EP glide through the listener’s ears. Lead track, ‘Man: In Love with Machine’, is another warm, lo-fi effort which compliments the previous three tracks well.
Valentine have gone to great lengths to secure the services of a creative and ambitious new group to front the label, and, it seems to have worked, as Cartwheel serve up a delightful debut release.
MMM
|