Strap Ons
Eat The Mess Age KRK108 CDR 12trks 61min
Created during 2000, Eat The Mess Age saw the Strap Ons momentarily dispensing with song/lyric structures in favour of cool, electronic textures - defined, largely, by programmed rhythms, analogue synth treatments, cut-up dialogue, dissonant guitar & toy instruments.
The presence of kRkRkRk co-founder J-mz Robinson (who joined the group in late 1999) encouraged the Strap Ons' penchant for playful lunacy - but also contributed to the suave & trancelike abstraction of several of the tracks on the album. These pieces, verging on Kraftwerk-esque electronica, constituted a significant departure for the group & emphasized the more experimental & avant-rock nature of the new recordings.
In hindsight, it's possible to see Eat The Mess Age as a reaction to the demise of the more rock-oriented aspect of the Strap Ons. This side of the group (which had enjoyed such dominance over the preceeding few years) had, in typical rock fashion, exacted a toll on Don & Nova - & their new recordings, with J-mz, reflected their desire to, temporarily, withdraw from the pressures & personalities of the local rock scene. This didn't prevent Eat The Mess Age from brandishing a number of scorching rock performances but, certainly, it remains one of the Strap Ons' most experimental & wonderfully eclectic works.
Hellbox
KRK116 & Bottle KRK115
Lost
Found Sound KRK106
Come
Back to My Place... KRK105
Early
Fears 1 KRK102 & Early Fears 2 KRK103
Strap
Ons intro
Strap
Ons profile
Listen to Strap Ons
Eat the Mess
Age KRK108
kRkRkRk recordings
krkrkrk@hotmail.com
Text by David
Khan. Web-building by Ed Wilson. No apologies for disinformation.
August 2004