Following last year's superb Animals, Not Waving return to Diagonal Records for another wobbly slice of punked-out techno and EBM. But where that last record was punctuated with slower acoustic-sounding tracks, Good Luck is more of a consistent pummelling to the gut; save for a couple of slow-burners like "Interested/Going" and the sombre synth-wave of "Teach Me," Not Waving's latest really drops the hammer from start to finish.
While Good Luck is dirty, misanthropic music for the most part, it's also quite colourful too. "Tool [I Don't Give a Shit]," for example, has a bunch of dark, rave-y synth lines, but it also has samples of some amiably young scamps at a Christmas party thrown in as well. Then you have something like "Me Me Me," which is a no-nonsense hardware-punk track, but one that has such a playful, wonky bass-line, you can't help but smile a little.
"Where Are We" is another track that straddles the border between ominous and optimistic. It features Montrealer Marie Davidson, whose vocals make the track sound like dystopian propaganda, yet its catchy acid elements also bring something hopeful to the mix.
Good Luck is Not Waving's fucked-up take on pop music: it's still too gritty for the masses, but there's definitely some glitter strewn amidst this cold, clunking machinery.
(Diagonal)While Good Luck is dirty, misanthropic music for the most part, it's also quite colourful too. "Tool [I Don't Give a Shit]," for example, has a bunch of dark, rave-y synth lines, but it also has samples of some amiably young scamps at a Christmas party thrown in as well. Then you have something like "Me Me Me," which is a no-nonsense hardware-punk track, but one that has such a playful, wonky bass-line, you can't help but smile a little.
"Where Are We" is another track that straddles the border between ominous and optimistic. It features Montrealer Marie Davidson, whose vocals make the track sound like dystopian propaganda, yet its catchy acid elements also bring something hopeful to the mix.
Good Luck is Not Waving's fucked-up take on pop music: it's still too gritty for the masses, but there's definitely some glitter strewn amidst this cold, clunking machinery.
