By Kevin Scott
Never in the history of recorded music has an album been described so pithily in its title as this release from Black Sugar Transmission. Short of time? Can’t be bothered reading on? Okay – this album is something of a glamour pantomime. Next.
There’s obviously more to it than that, so much so that at times it threatens to derail itself – there’s electro-rock, there’s glam rock, there’s virtuoso guitar playing, all of which combine with mixed results from being pulled in too many directions.
The album kicks off with ‘Obedience’, which seems to have taken its lead from XTRMNTR-era Primal Scream but without the anger on intensity of that album. The beat is loud and fast and it's a decent opener. From there, the influences are more mainstream – Prince, Roxy Music, Placebo are all in there somewhere.
The electronic beat continues on ‘Loud Girls’, which has more pop sensibilities to it. “Cocktails, cocaine, egos, old stains,” goes the chorus, but it doesn't quite sound like artefacts that would associate themselves with music like this - whether it's the chorus effect on the vocal or the stop/start beat, again the required intensity just isn't there. There’s the feeling that live, this would be a different proposition.
‘Synthesizer Licence’ starts better; it’s more driven, the vocal right at the heart of the mix – even if the lyrics err towards the cheesy side: “Release decay sustain attack, you won't be having none of that, without a synthesiser licence.” See above reference to pantomime though – this is what the band are all about. Synths battle for space with guitars as the vocal shouts “fight”, literally. There's something childish about it and it makes it fun, in a way.
The Brian Molko-esque vocals are interesting throughout – at times distorted (when they’re at their most interesting) and at times clean. There’s a glam-80s theme running across the entire album too with the funky ‘Love is Theatre’ carrying a great beat – even though the lyrics again aren’t overly compelling.
The darker ‘Favourite Threat’ is the album’s high point, though it’s too clean to feel dirty. The melody is strong with an uplifting chorus on the importance of friendship.
The Glamour Pantomime is full of energy, and even if that energy isn’t harnessed as well as it could be in places, there’s a lot of fun to be had listening to it.
