13 October 2011
"a fast, tight and awesomely expert
conjunction of spiky high-energy compositions"
The Guardian
"earth-shattering, taking a
sledgehammer to preconceived limitations of jazz"
Time Out
In the
second decade of the 21st century, amid woeful tales of decaying
consumer spend and the alleged slow painful death of the recorded music
business as we know it, one indomitable televisual franchise is bucking the
trend; A popularity contest that saves the major pop machine from speculating
on completely-unknown raw talent, but allowing both the winners and losers to
thrive with equal chance in the real world, pre-nurtured by a well-ordered
reality performance experience. Ultimately, this behemoth fourth quarter
televisual journey is a commendable mechanism to remind middle-Britain of the
value of music and take ownership of it, whether the shelf life is three weeks
or three decades.
Every
year around this time, The X Factor lights up the charts in every possible way.
Its effect on the media is gargantuan to the point of unavoidability from car
magazines to fashion blogs. Even those who loath it, both fear and respect it.
Cult
experimental Leeds outfit trioVD respect it. So much so, they have crafted a
conceptual EP called ‘X', consisting of four songs inspired by the four
personalities that make up the award winning television series' judging panel. TrioVD
guitarist Chris Sharkey, also known for his acclaimed work in Acoustic
Ladyland, a group that featured Tom Herbert (The Invisible), Seb Rochford and Pete
Wareham (both Polar Bear), explains "Our intention here is not to mock
this programme, the judges and, most importantly, the brave souls that enter
this coliseum of contemporary culture. It is a musical response to the show.
Some people vote. We make music."
Little-known
to the average X Factor viewer, trioVD (whose 2009 debut became MOJO Jazz Album
Of The Year) dive through a blundering thrash-metal take on Tulisa, through the
celtic-jig-on-steroids come pseudo-power-ballad of Walsh, to the 90s pop peaks
and monotone slumps of Barlow and the sensitivity and grace of trip-hop infused
Kelly over 20 minutes.
The
beauty of trioVD's bizarre concept is the breadth of ways it can be considered.
Any charge that ‘X' is a gimmick can be dispelled quickly in consideration of
the pride and enthusiasm that goes into trioVD's unmistakable compositions and
performances. It could be supposed X
Factor leaves no room for the brilliance of niche artists that the UK has to
offer. With that said, releasing music of any form remains a game of
natural selection that artists and labels willingly opt into. In which case,
trioVD's ‘X' is still a triumph if its association with an enormous televisual brand
helps further its exposure to the world. ‘X' is to be enjoyed by its fans be and
loathed by its critics, like any other record, but overall appreciated as a palpable
tribute to a cultural institution that will unquestionably go down in history. All
this aside, it an absolutely fascinating listen.
www.trioVD.com
www.naimedge.com