'As I Don't Get It', the first track from Syd Kemp's ‘The Horror’ EP, isn't an easy one to label. It immediately strikes you as too off-kilter for a pop song, but it's too easy to listen to to be called experimental. It blurs psychedelic rock, ambient, new wave and indie rock, somehow achieving the feat of evoking both an unsettling, anxious atmosphere and euphoria. There is a seemingly endless depth to the opening, then the song’s signature synth riff kicks in; it's on edge and an instant hook. Kemp scatters his unique paranoid pop with a mix of horror sound effects. The distorted vocals bring an inherent spookiness, yet, helped by the buzzing saxophone, the whole thing sounds like a chemically induced dream.
The Horror is out now on Little League Records
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