Super White Assassin – Dark Teenage Fantasy

Written by Manu Ekanayake

electro-pop

The first 2012 release on the new Hacienda Records label is a deft piece of electro pop from Peter Hook’s new discoveries, Super White Assassin.

Those expecting Madchester rave sounds might be disappointed here, but those with a more open mind will probably take to this. SWA vocalist Tuey shows her silky skills from the off as Russian Doll starts proceedings. It’s all a bit 90s, but in more of a Ladytron way.

Things get a bit less 'slick bar grooves' and a bit more driving on White Noise, where SWA’s Argentinian producer DieGodzilla shows off his synth skills as Tuey provides more smooth vocal caresses. This darker vibe is somewhat diluted on Jupiter Storm, with some lighter effects keeping things going until a pretty crazy synth line kicks off about three-quarters of the way through. Then some guitar and organ work veer from background to the fore when they attach themselves to the bass until the slightly schizophrenic track ends.

Finally, Out In The Snow tells a sad tale with the aid of the darkest beats on display here, but that’s not really saying much. It’s a romantic end-music-from-a-film piece with a darkly warming organ bass being complemented by the odd bit of fx, which adds a mournful though light tone. This is the most ambitious track on here, but I’m not sure it achieves its aims.

Rating: 7.0/10
Label: Hacienda Records
Release date: February 6th, 2012