Toob - Push Me, Pull You

(Process)

Thanks to all the wankers who like writing on the internet, it takes more than a subscription to Jockey Slut or Plan B to stay ahead of the game these days. Thank you, then, Toob for creating an album that restores a little of the sense of discernment that readiness of information has stolen from us.

A wealth of electronic history makes the aptly titled Push Me, Pull You a restless melange struggling between deep, murky meandering and something vivacious, live and modern. On tracks like 'Skinbox' this compromise sounds fascinatingly cool – accessible, moody and whisperingly reminiscent of Chk Chk Chk side-project Out Hud with its electronic strut. Topped with coarse, buzzy groovers like 'Clipto' and 'The Hand', and Push Me, Pull You suddenly comes across with a very contemporary air.

But there's darkness beneath a bass-intensive, tech-troubler like 'Unsound Skin' that sets Toob up to be the kind of very hands-on electronic act that goes back to Suicide's scene experimentalism. With Red Snapper's breaks-drummer Rich Thair driving the beat, you can expect some rigorous tribalism as well as a show to make you think. Anything less than a winding, freeflow freakout would understate the variety on this record.

Effortlessly engaging and intelligent, Toob can push with 'Mr Brown's dub feminine sultriness or push 'Open The Gates's mutant electro-funk. An album that does both and more? Actually not a bad idea.

				Fran Donnelly  [Hi Voltage]