A Brief History Of Love

We Say...

Review by Andrew Parks

When Milo Cordell first stumbled upon a Klaxons set in 2005, he dug their "beautiful disaster" angle so much that he launched Merok Records to release their very first 7-inch. In the years since, Cordell has nailed down a number of other artists before the hype machine hit, among them Crystal Castles, Titus Andronicus and Telepathe.

What he hasn't done is press anything by the Big Pink, his noise-pop project with vocalist/guitarist/programmer Robbie Furze. That distinction's gone to 4AD, who brought the duo to New York's Electric Lady Studios for their first proper LP. A Brief History of Love — the electro-shocked result of those sessions — dabbles in distortion and melodrama, but it adds a surface sheen that grounds the record in a strange brew of soul, pop and shoegaze. Strange but satisfying, singles like "Velvet" and "Dominos" have a great deal of replay value, built from heavyweight beats and heart-sinking hooks. True to its title, the Big Pink's debut is a meditation on love and loss, but it never resorts to mealy-mouthed woe-is-me-isms. Instead, Furze keeps things simple, sending his melodies sailing across the ethereal backup vocals of Valentine Fillol-Cordier, a Parisian model with the pipes of a concert hall phantom (especially on "Frisk," a likely late-game single if you ask us). Nihilistic noise it ain't. Beyond all the leather and bloodshot eyes in their press photos, the Big Pink are a pop band at heart. Milo's father — a producer who passed away in 1995 and worked with such beloved '60s artists as Procol Harum and Joe Cocker — would be proud.