Review: Permanent Wave - Horses - Play Pal 

This Play Pal release has been out for a little while, and would have been reviewed earlier, had I been able to stop playing it in order to write about it.

​Permanent Wave, the combination of Neil Parnell (Tronik Youth) and singer Justine, have produced a slow, brooding EP that while not quite the full gallop, makes up for a lack of speed by piling on the peril for a canter through a dark, dark place. Opener “I See Horses” is all moody intent and swaggering menace – like a Grand National circuit made up of 100 Beecher’s Brooks and sponsored by Copydex.
 
There’s a insouciant sense of European cool that carries through to second original track “La Maison Des Horreurs”. As the vocals drift in like smoke in a moody Parisian jazz joint, comparisons with C.A.R. seem valid, but only in the sense that the bands operate in a similar space. The bit that Permanent Wave have screened off for themselves feels a bit special – and not just because one suspects it could be hiding a dead horse. There’s LOTS of music here, from 60s European pop tropes to beautifully sequenced electronic rhythms and soundtrack experimentalism. It’s extraordinarily good.

Remix duties are taken up by Iñigo Vontier (“La Maison Des Horreurs”) and Thomass Jackson (“I See Horses”) who each retain the spirit of the originals while giving them a new outfit for a night on the tiles. Great jobs both, but it’s the originals that sparkle here. We can only hope that live shows will follow soon. 

​Barney Harsent