Stutter Drop

The latest release from Lighterthief, a CD that bears the name Stutter Drop is a strange beast. The uninitiated punter playing this may be forgiven for thinking that it comes across like an odd, possibly ill conceived, mish-mash of short experimental ideas. The key to understanding what Stutter Drop is all about requires a knowledge of the marketing strategy behind the music. The way to think of this short sampler of the bands creative musical juices is as a film trailer. When you watch those fast and flashy collage of visuals for the latest movie blockbuster on TV, you don't expect to be able to understand the plot or relate to any underlying message, rather all you do is make a decision as to whether this film is for you or not, no more. And so it is with Stutter Drop, it is merely a teaser for a more complete and well rounded body of work, if you like the sound bites that this CD affords , then it is likely that the finished article will appeal to you too. And the plan is that by the time the finished tracks arrive there will already be a demand for the music, created by this release, very astute indeed.

So what do you get. Well, Stutter Drop feels like the perfect sequel to the previous album, Incubation and takes many of those familiar themes, the dark, organic, down beat, trip hop, the evocative and often eerie vocals, and the dovetailing of grunged out blues and electronica. It also hints of much that is new, both in the form of the collaborators involved and the sounds created. New vocal styles, the skills of a DJ, there is even the occasional move to incorporate bigger rock sounds, albeit with the usual Lighterthief approach. I, for one, was not expecting an almost Verve like anthem and some sleazier rock guitar riffs that would feel at home on a Johnny Thunders album, which may hint at main man Stu's sordid musical past, such is the nature of this band, they will surprise you every time.

So with a marketing strategy that is as experimental as the music and a CD that hints at wonderful music to come, Stutter Drop is a wonderful musical fishing hook, one that will enable the band to reel you in at a later date. I feel that there will be many that will go willingly.

Dave Franklin