Melt Yourself Down… Or get impaled by a palm tree on top of a pyramid – up to you, really

Review: Melt Yourself Down – Melt Yourself Down

Published on July 1st, 2013 | Jonny Abrams

Melt Yourself Down is the brainchild of Polar Bear and Acoustic Ladyland saxophonist Pete Wareham, the man himself telling Rocksucker in our recent interview that he had an epiphany and decided that he wanted to play some “Nubian party music”.

It’s proven to be a splendid idea, but then as much was obvious when we heard the rasping sax, electronic bleepery, clattering rhythm section and mean-ass bass line of their “Fix My Life” single earlier this year.

“Fix My Life” gets things underway here, its aforementioned elements proceeding to accelerate straight into more recent single “Release!”; these elements more or less dominate throughout the album but it’s all too much fun for the uniformity to frustrate.

Warning: this video contains strobe effects.

Rocksucker described “Fix My Life” in our initial review of it as “hyperactive jazz lunacy with a whacking great dirty rhythm section slipped underneath it to tumultuously clattering effect”, and this applies to much of the set.

Suffice it to say, it’s a refreshingly riotous party record that’s as fresh and dynamic sounding as pretty much anything you’ll hear this year, not to mention brimming with colour and technique.

Any song that goes by the name of “Tuna” has earned Rocksucker’s respect before it’s even sounded a note, while there’s also joy to be found in the barmy propulsion of “Kingdom of Kush”, the loose sort of Bhangra of “Free Walk” and the gleeful shouts of “hey!” punctuating the rolling drums and parping sax of set closer “Camel”.

We can’t say we have much of an idea of what goes down at a Nubian party but, thanks to Melt Yourself Down, we’re now quite keen to find out.

Melt Yourself Down is out now on The Leaf Label.

You can buy Melt Yourself Down on iTunes and on Amazon.

Rocksucker says: Three and a Half Quails out of Five!

a quail a quail a quail half a quail

Artists: melt yourself down

About the Author

Jonny Abrams Editor of Rocksucker and the website's founder, Jonny is passionate about the music he listens to, both good and bad, as well as interviewing his favourite musicians.