Label: Piano – this 1201, Piano – this 12 01 Format: Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM Country: UK Released: 1980 Genre: Electronic, Rock Style: Art Rock, Avantgarde, Experimental
A true landmark release in the history of UK post-punk, experimental, avant-garde call it whatever, it's just amazing music with the debut EP from the Charles Hayward featuring outfit This Heat. The a-side title cut is a hard, meditative slice of gritty post-punk with screeching guitars and drugged, repetitive drum - released in 1980 this was really radical for the musical zeitgeist with its strange blend of textures, equally thundering as it was ethereal. Flip it over for 'Graphic/Varispeed' (personal favourite being the drone boy that I am) - where again its like, what the fuck is going on here?? Especially compared to the A-side. I'm guessing some sort of tape-loop that locks us into this form of stasis enabling a sort of hyper-sensitivity to minute fluctuations in pitch and timbre. With no clues or explanation offered its really ambiguous, which only adds to intrigue. One equally for fans of Gang Of Four or La Monte Young alike. (Original Piano press, Vinyl & Sleeve VG++).
