July 30, 2004

The Flesh "Sweet Defeat"

Ah yes, another dance-oriented postpunk rock band from New York City. How original! Okay, okay, I'm being a bit cynical, but it's really hard not to be these days--what's with the punk kids wanting to dance all of a sudden? We shouldn't be so quick to dismiss The Flesh, though, because there's a spark of something really good here. True, there's the whole Hot Hot Heat/!!!/LCD Soundsystem vibe going on here, and one of the songs on here is a remix a song on the EP, but that doesn't really seem to matter, either. "Sweet Defeat" and "Night Loop," while having a bit of a restrained feel, do seem like numbers that would get an audience torn up and dancing like crazy. "Cuts" is merely okay, but the Empty Temple Remix is the better of the two versions. Though Sweet Defeat doesn't really offer much in the way of letting you know what The Flesh is all about, it does give hints of greater things to come on their debut album, set for release this fall.

--Joseph Kyle

Artist Website: http://www.putontheflesh.com
Label Website: http://www.gernblandsten.com

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