Tony Castles
No Service
Famous Class Records
8/10
At the very least, Tony Castles’ No Service is a pick ‘n’ mix of eclecticism with each track being a mile or two apart from the last. On listening to the first track, I was pretty sure that – at best – it was a full on shitter. But, while it’s too painful to use the ‘w’ word here, I’m pleased to say I…wasn’t quite right. It’s really an interesting sound that Brooklyn’s Tony Castles have cultivated for themselves; it’s fuzzy and disjointed in a way that’s often quite Foalsy, but still pretty listenable – with the track ‘Dream Job’ actually coming under that rare category of badass mover and shaker.
It has that same violent and interesting mix of danceability and ‘spaz’ that Blood Brothers pioneered (and have basically been the only ones ever to pull it off until now) and – while, every now and again, their vocalist sounds like he’s doing a bad David Bowie impression, and there is still a tiny bit of fecal matter floating around in the U-Bend of No Service – it’s actually pretty good and definitely worth a listen.
There’s a good chance this lot will be up in your radio in a big way pretty soon, so get acquainted now for those extra hip-points. (Track one is still awful)
-Karl Smith