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 On first listen, there’s something about
‘Ideal Lives’, the debut LP from New York trio, Rahim, that forces you
to emit a huge sigh and an apathetic moan of ‘Oh god, here we go again’.
For whilst the album does threaten to burst with an energy, fury and
fluster steeped in DC post-punk, here, such stupefied sounds are
restrained with a tinge of indie and kept on a pop leash.
Indeed, ‘Ideal Lives’ is packed with stabbing, angular guitars and
kinky, elastic beats that strive for individuality, yet sadly finds any
such claim to chaos smoothed over by the sort of factory stock brand of
uber-cool, uber-now indie-dance-rock-thing that every band and their
dogs are pushing into the market.
Far more polished than their rough ‘n’ ready EP, ‘Jungles’, this
harmonious, adventurous album fuzzes and fizzles with a vigour that
Rahim are working hard to make entirely they’re own.
Produced by Burning Airlines and Jawbox man, J. Robins (who lists bands
such as Kerosene 454 and Texas is the Reason in his producing
portfolio), this debut from Messieurs Sutton, McCoy and Friedrich has
drawn much comparison to the likes of Fugazi and Q and not U.
Yet running through each warm, perfectly formed, slick track, you get
the feeling that they’re looking to break out of analogies of any kind.
Whether it’s the post-punk vibes they’re noted for, or this modern
cool-rock thing they’re unintentionally drifting towards, Rahim seem to
want more than anything to create something that is theirs. Something
that, several years into the future, when trends have come and gone, and
come and gone again, they’ll be remembered for on their own merit.
From the lavish charms of ‘Forever Love’ to the grand, sheer brilliance
of highlight ’10,000 Horses’, there are hints that these New York boys
do have the tools to take it to that level. ‘Ideal Lives’ is only the
beginning’, and only time will tell if anyone will still be talking
about them in the years to come, or if they will indeed find themselves
lost amidst the wash of bands treading similar waters right now.
Recommended Links:
www.rahimrahim.org – Rahim’s Official site.
http://www.frenchkissrecords.com - Frenchkiss Records
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