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The Dutch artist Elizabeth Esselink aka Solex is the author of "Low Kick and Hard Bop" (Matador, 2001), without exaggeration, one of the most important and distinctive works (not necessarily the most well-known) of the current decade, a work capable of distilling the essence of contemporary music to create magical sound potions that embrace the past while simultaneously moving beyond it.
"Low Kick" is a heterogeneous catalog of notes outlining a new and original contemporary path to pop, traced through a personal technique that involves sampling and pasting fragments of music together (sourced from her second-hand record shop) from the most varied origins: while the cut-and-paste technique is not entirely original, having been exploited by numerous avant-garde artists, the result is strikingly fresh, devoid of the heaviness and introversion typical of pure research works, a result that to inattentive ears might seem the logical consequence of writing simple songs: and it is precisely in this masking of complexity behind a pop-like veil that Solex's true genius is concealed.
A good taste is already given by the first, eponymous track, which pairs a staggering harmonica borrowed from good vintage blues with pulsating electronic rhythms and Elizabeth's bright voice, before plunging into a black hole of keyboards; the gold medal of the record goes to "Have you no shame, girl?", characterized by a marvelous vocal emergence and a base rich with instruments in the under-background, for an overall effect reminiscent of more than one aspect of early Beck; slight resonances with El Guapo (beaten to the punch, we must clarify...) are instead found in "Shoot shoot!", a deviated, dark, and elegant melody where the keyboard sound is strong and obsessive; countless are the synthetic nursery rhymes Miss Solex manages to create, surrounded by bells and toy-like instruments ("Mere Imposters"), very simple guitar chords and various noises ("Ololo") and trumpets that seem to have come out of a Totò film ("Good comrades go to heaven").
The Future spaghetti western sound of "You say potato, I say aardappel" is also thrilling, as is the aborted rock n' roll of "Comely Row" (the most punk, in its own way, of the album); and then there is "Caienne" and "Honey (Amsterdam is not L.A.)", which exude freshness from every pore, and "Not a hoot!", a rain dance performed by Indians who have emigrated to Japan.
The live performances are also splendid, where songs maintain their structure but change skin like snakes, being played by actual people (currently two, a drummer and Elizabeth herself) and not by samplers and various machines, as on the record.
A must-have record for its beauty and historical importance even before it makes history, and a clear example of how music hasn't said it all yet: there is no limit to creativity, as long as you have it.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Mere Imposters (02:23)
Of course they just tried to remove
The apple from a bucket of
(Water without using their hands)
A drink would make you feel better
They raced the waiter with a tray
Hey! They raced each other the same way
Hey! Raced him with their tray, only for a day
Of course they just tried to remove
The bucket from that little mad
(man I then saw with the huge head)
Hey! They raced each other the same way
Hey! Raced him with their tray, only for a day
He snapped his fingers and then recited a sing-song one
Part of a play-party game
No one did catch it's name
they began about a quarter past one o'clock in the morning
A rhythmic quick-cadenced walking around the dining room table
And they're still at it
05 Knee-high (02:43)
Some sock in the eye
And she fell in the inglenook
She's so flat and tenderfoot
Forelocks in the way
Absolute
If you will, romp in the nook
And a bit knee-high
And she fell in the inglenook
She's so flat and tenderfoot
Forelocks in the way
Absolute
If you will, romp in the nook
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