Sudden Rooms

 

 

Paris Transatlantic Review

After five albums on Leo, the Remotes have decided to go it alone with Sudden Rooms.. - though Leo Feigin assures me they haven't left the fold for good - which kicks off with another extraordinary cover version (to add to the Madonna and Portishead masterpieces on their preceding outings): this time it's David Sylvian's "Ghosts" that gets the Louise Petts treatment, her silky smooth voice accompanied by husband David's weird swoony harmonisations. One imagines that Mr Sylvian, who's now hooked up with such avant heroes as Derek Bailey and Christian Fennesz, will appreciate the homage. Elsewhere, the outlandish microtonal synth work and positively disturbing saxophone arrangements might give you a clue as to why the Remotes opted to release this themselves. Five years on from their Leo debut they're still one of the most original and as a result under-appreciated outfits around, and it's ironic that they're based in the city with perhaps the liveliest improv scene in the world, London. Unless there are some seismic changes in the world cultural map, The Remote Viewers are rather unlikely to be playing in a venue near you in the foreseeable future, so you'd be advised to email Mr Petts forthwith and procure yourself a copy of this little treasure.

 

 Dan Warburton