CD-R/free download, Marionette Records/D-Trash Records, 2008
www.marionette-records.co.uk
As far as albums go, “Slapstick Bitch”, the third full-length by Manchester-based artist Faux Pride, is seriously mixed bag and bound to disappoint quite a few people.
After a very promising high-octane opening, highlighted by the insane “A Man”, the album quickly fizzles out, passing through merely competent rhythmic noise, settling for a series of processed samples and distorted rhythms liberally sprinkled with the odd glitch and recycled sample, sometimes burying the ensemble under a thick layer of heavy distortion. Half-way through, Faux Pride shows that indeed he is capable of composing a riveting track, but “No Deal” isn’t enough to compensate what went on before and the album begins to go down the same path again. Merely hinting that one can perform a kind of trick and then proceeding to badly performing a series of other tricks is, to say the least, frustrating for the listener and this is the feeling that “Slapstick Bitch” while listening to it. Also, Faux Pride has a tendency to abruptly stop tracks midway and move on to something else entirely, which does anything but help the pacing and flow of the album. Another very important aspect that seriously detracts from this release is its production, or rather its noticeable lack of it. Overall, the sound is extremely flat, something that while somewhat passable in the (few) more intense and fast-paced rhythmical tracks, is fatal to more experimental compositions like the noise/distortion-based track “Third Dimension” so that listening to those becomes a chore.
Despite a few ear-grabbing moments “Slapstick Bitch” is not a thrilling listen. While the artist seems quite at ease and competent at creating intense hardcore tracks, that clearly isn’t the case when he tries his hand at creating material on a more experimental style; perhaps he should concentrate and develop what he does best before moving on to territory where he is clearly less at ease.
[4/10]
— Miguel de Sousa