Beckett & Taylor/ Spandex
Lies 12’
Hand On The Plow
4.0

forthcoming in prefixmag.com

Hand on the Plow's first release, the 12’ “Work” garnered copious praise from the electronic music cognoscenti. Matthew Herbert named it one of the best records he’s been sent in some time, and the often highbrow Wire showered it in praise. Not bad for a debut. Here, Beckett and Taylor return with another four track, split release. “Lies” is generally in the same vein as their first release; Microsamples, crunchy textures and attention to detail tied together with an underlying pop sensibility that seems to be reemerging in electronic music today. In short, it’s catchy as all hell. “More Lies” is a 4/4, uptempo continuation of the same formula--small chunks and slices of the original vocal track cut up and pasted back together over a stomping beat. It’s reminiscent, yet not overly derivative of the aforementioned Herbert’s productions. The highlight of this release, Snakeskin Teeth by Spandex, is an absolutely warped electrofunk tune with a dirty synthline, heavily edited vocals and lyrics that tend not to leave your head-- The most logical pick for the dancefloor. “Abusing the Body” is a leftfield mishmash of Hall and Oates microsamples, with shards of percussion and elements of the original tune chopped up and rendered nearly unrecognizable, other than the familiar lyrics to “I Can’t Go for That.”