October 18th, 2013
Having missed several opportunities to see Fuck Buttons live, including one at
the Market Hotel, I looked forward to catching them at Le Poisson Rouge
during the CMJ festival. I've long admired how Andrew Hung and Benjamin
John Power have stayed true to their roots, crafting intriguing music that arouses a deep emotional
response without confining themselves to conventional norms. Hung and
Power started in 2004 as a noise band, intent on pushing the boundaries with
never-ending drones and pulsating, feedback-laden beats. They’ve gone in different directions
with each of their three albums – from Street
Horsssing’s primal, fuzzed-out noise-trips featuring menacing vocals to Tarot Sport’s more controlled, but just-as-ferocious
dance tracks to the dark and moody pieces of Slow Focus. How the songs of these little-known knob-twiddlers
ended up in the London Olympic opening ceremony, I will never know. Perhaps
Danny Boyle's musical taste is as good as his directorial tastes are bad.
The sold out crowd was ready and waiting as Fuck
Buttons took to the stage. Hung and Power positioned themselves across from each other with
a table of endless equipment between them. The live experience did not disappoint. Their aggressive and hypnotic sounds
remained compelling despite a liberal use of repetition. They allowed their songs to develop
slowly, keeping the listener in a holding pattern before elevating things with
layer upon layer of sound. The
blatant repetition may have sent some CMJ attendees running for the exits,
but the song structures not only make sense, each song was ingeniously crafted to
elicit a powerful emotional response.
The music was cinematic, but not in the soundtrack type of way. Every moment was packed with pure drama,
each song a ten-minute wordless Sidney Lumet film.
I was surprised at how much of the music they actually
play live. With Brainfeeze, the opening track from the excellent Slow Focus, Power played the baseline on
a snare drum before looping it and then building upon it with various beats and atmospherics.
Hung meanwhile manipulated oscillating tones, adding frenetic elements by chortling into the
mic, his voice completely distorted and unrecognizable. That the music was created element by
element before being looped and manipulated equated to a great live experience. Neither bandmate sat still for a second. Several times, Hung and Power faced off as if playing table
hockey. Action and reaction, sounds clashed but were then somehow melded together. These moments segued into established songs from their catalogue.
After whipping the crowd into a frenzy, the
tone shifted dramatically with Olympians from Tarot Sport. Rapid
percussive beats built up a head of steam before heavy synths washed over the
crowd, raising and lowering seismically.
Then the heavens opened up as light and airy notes pierced through the thick layers of sound. It was a
beautiful moment, and as usual they let the moment run its course.
A highlight was Surf Solar from Tarot Sport.
A medley of various synthetic chirps gave way to
a thick drumbeat before a nasty breakbeat kicked in. Heads bopped and
bodies flailed. Power then unleashed dark, deafening synths that
oscillated
slowly. It was interesting to see which wavelength audience members
plugged into -- the breakbeats or the synths. Some danced frenetically,
others closed their eyes and slowly swayed their heads. Next came
shotgun propulsions and things kicked up a gear. Finally, loud organs
came in to drive
the song towards its climax. Six layers of sound continued at once, a
collage
of noise reminiscent of Panda Bear's PersonPitch.
After a full set, the duo left the stage. A
large portion of the CMJ crowd exited as well, probably not expecting such a
group to play by the rules and do an encore. Fortunately, they were wrong.
Hung and Power came back for one more song. I expected either Sweet
Love For Planet Earth or Bright Tomorrow -- songs from the debut album that
build to absolute catharsis.
Instead came Space Mountain, perhaps their most restrained and mature
piece. Space Mountain builds slowly --
and I mean slowly. But it was a perfect finale that captivated the crowd. It was in essence a
nine-minute crescendo, Hung and Power used repetition masterfully to transport the audience,
lifting them up to the ethers.
