SPLISH SPLASH

Hochman & Hopkins - PRINCE

I don’t really know what to file this under. It starts off sounding like hurried mish-mash of found sounds; rumbles, sirens, muttering, and just as you’re about to call it soundscape and never listen to it again, the ground opens up beneath you. Is that an accordion melody? A ship’s horn? I’m not sure, but I feel that short fiction is the best way to describe my feelings about this beautiful track:

You catch the train down to the waterfront, past the Greek restaurants and hardware stores, to visit your landlord. The doorway to his 1970s apartment block is a black hole. You tiptoe down the corridor, trying not to splash your pants with the water on the floor. Number 12. You knock politely and hear him shout from somewhere far inside, “JUST GIMME A MINUTE, WOULDJA?” As you wait, your eyes adjust to the darkness and you notice one of those kitschy Eiffel Tower posters on one wall. Someone has drawn a cock and balls on it. On the Eiffel Tower. Your landlord wrenches the door open and he’s wearing his best eyepatch and a black hat. His gold teeth are extra-shiny and he has goat’s blood on the vest of his three-piece suit. He must be going on a date. “You must be going on a date,” you say, and he disagrees. “THAT’S A HOOT!” he says, “A WISE GUY, EH!” He invites you in but to be honest, you’re feeling uncomfortable so you say you’re just passing through and as you’re about to get to the point and complain about whatever your mind goes blank so you make up some shit about wanting to give him your New Year’s greetings. He squints at you distrustfully and slams the door. You get a headache on the train home.

FYI, Matthew Hopkins and Jonathan Hochman are highly experienced in Sydney DIY soundz: JH is in Holy Balm and Stick Stick and MH is in Naked On The Vague and Vincent Over The Sink. Looks Good On Paper has a review of their last tape, It’s A Submarine. THE MOAR YOU KNOW.

[Hochman & Hopkins MySpace]