Rating: NNN
When Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power started working together in 2004 to create a soundtrack to one of Hung’s art school films, they probably didn’t expect their noisy electronic experiments would one day be used in the opening ceremonies for the 2012 Summer Olympics. Perhaps they’ve been influenced by the bombast and grandeur of that unexpected reframing of their music, since Slow Focus sounds more muscular and stadium-ready than anything they’ve done before.
The duo seem much more in control of their machines and rewired toys, but their sound still has a murky homemade quality that gives everything a warm retro haze of 70s electronic music rather than the crystalline sheen of contemporary laptop pop. Unfortunately, it often veers dangerously close to a corny dystopian sci-fi movie soundtrack, which becomes a little less cute with each listen.
Top track: Hidden XS
Fuck Buttons play Wrongbar October 16.
