Two Brighton-based hooded men known only as South Central are on a mission to fill the dance floor with their debut release ‘Nothing Can Go Wrong’ and I dare you to resist.
The two hoods have been causing a stir in the ‘new rave’ scene that is currently getting the trendies of Shoreditch and Camden all hot and bothered with a few cracking remixes. These include scenesters Shitdisco and the Klaxons (a cheeky but great version of ‘The Bouncer’ that hasn’t gone down well with the latter) as well as a complete transformation of indie ruffians the Maccabees. Now we are treated to an original tune (released on Leeds based label art goes pop) and frankly it is as good as anything released by the existing stable of new ravers.
Because actually this is quality electropunk that needs no association with a scene to be what it is – which is a great f***ing tune. It is a glorious marriage of glam rock and electro with a stomping bass line that just won’t quit. There is definitely some Windowlicker-era Aphex Twin going on here and bits and pieces of several different genres that all come together to make a joyful sweaty sing-and-dance-along.
The 12” mix is a full seven and a half minutes of relentless assault but if you can’t handle that there’s also a dub mix and a more radio-friendly four minute 7” mix. Either way the guitars keep pounding at you and the vocals keep reminding you that “nothing can go wrong” until you find yourself dancing like a fool – which can be embarrassing when you’re listening to it on your iPod in Tesco, I assure you.
Some people view ‘new rave’ as trying to reclaim indie music. This may be true to some extent, as the eternal cycle of guitar-based music is now reaching a commercialised, watered-down low point, but the more important fact is that it is giving dance music the kick up the arse it desperately needs. Breaking away from the superclub and the superstar DJ, tunes like ‘Nothing Can Go Wrong’ are following in the footsteps of 2 Many DJs and LCD Soundsystem to take the best elements of dance and guitar music and get the kids back on the dance floor. As the song says: “Everybody dancing, everybody rocking.”
However long ‘new rave’ lasts and whether or not South Central do themselves, this debut release is certainly guaranteed to put a smile on your face and a bounce[r] in your step.
