Jim Davies Electronic Guitar
by Alissa Ordabai
Staff Writer
Best known for his association with the Prodigy as their touring guitarist and being the integral part of Pitchshifter’s runaway success, this time Jim Davies treats us to a solo album of instrumental guitar experiments, a record as unique as it is intriguing.
Underpinned by a caffeinated digital dance beat, the opener “Empire” sets the tone right off the bat, with thumping electro groove running underneath crunchy guitar licks – a rock stomper and an exemplary dance anthem rolled in one.
Davies’s unique sound signature can twist the guitar sound into perfect mimicry of the synth, but sonic experiments and the thrill of combining propulsive dance grooves with killer guitar riffs isn’t the main attraction here. Davies proves that he is also a focussed and cohesive writer, his range expanded since the release of the debut effort of his current outfit Victory Pill back in 2007. And when he goes for introspection, as on another standout “Requiem”, echoes of the ’80s New Wave electronica portray an emotionally mature, earnest, multi-layered writer who can work the old-fashioned melody into electro grooves to a stunning result.
While Davies has developed as a writer, he’s also progressed as an instrumentalist, proving his chopsman cred with fluidity and assurance as he winds the tight textures of his non-linear guitar universe around cybernetic beats. The end result is an album which doesn’t skip between dance music and rock but unites the two in a gimmicky but still convincing melting pot of styles, making you wonder what it is about dance beats that gives rock added gravity and colour.
Label: Mascot Records
Track Listing:
1. Empire
2. How We Roll
3. Fire for Effect
4. Rubicon
5. Hot Shot
6. Sayonara
7. Last Laugh
8. Little Pick Me up
9. Requiem
10. Hide the Effects
11. Trip
12. Juno
13. Vital Signs
14. Rockers vs. Ravers
Hardrock Haven rating: 7/10