Tussle - Here It Comes

Okay, I'm going to be up front with you: I like vinyl, especially colored vinyl. (I'm one of those guys.) For the record, not to wax semantic, just to make things clear (it's like the Triple Lindy of bad puns): clear is not a color. Clear clear. Red clear or green clear is fine. But with clear clear I see the grooves on both sides of the vinyl which makes it difficult to find tracks. My copy of "Kling Klang," the debut LP from Tussle is on clear vinyl. But that's my only qualm.

Well, that and the title. A more apt title would be "Kling Klang-ang-ang-ang." Because it's dub. Glad we're on the same page. But it's not just dub. It's also d-punk with that hi-hat / snare thing going on. Now there are some inherent downsides when dealing with dub and d-punk, mainly repetition; all of the songs sound alike, which is only partially true of "Kling Klang." Opting to stay true to dub and play their songs sans lyrics certainly doesn't help, but the array of effects and bass lines keeps them out of the repetition trap. You can recognize a Tussle song in the same way you can recognize a Joy Division song; the sound is there but they are each different. And again like Joy Division, there are a couple of nicely done singles: "Here It Comes" and "Disco D'Oro."

With "Kling Klang," Tussle has carved out their own niche in the post-dub indie world alongside Out Hud, Dub Narcotic Sound System and certain GoGoGo Airheart tracks.