Ready Fire Aim
"This Changes Nothing"
Free Track:
"So Fine"
Label: Expansion Team Records
Release Date: May 27th, 2008
"I really disdain lyricists who write under the pretext of trying to be cool or hip," explains Sage Rader, one half of the Brooklyn based musical outfit Ready Fire Aim (RFA).
"I just want to convey the emotion that I'm feeling in that moment, to try and tell a story," and with production by drum and bass sensation Shaun "Stakka" Morris, Rader's turbulent mood swings become the dark-synthed avant-electro allegory that defines RFA's debut release This Changes Nothing.
The opening song, "End of Over," politely escorts listeners through the depths of a tormented soul as Stakka's quicksand beat layering gradually envelopes Rader's fragile lament about the way things "should be."
"Shouldn't Oughta," "Welcome Home," and "Lush But Dark," also possess that alluring Dave Gahan-esqe sound which helped launch Depeche Mode to international stardom.
But not all of
This Changes Nothing slivers through the lurid epicenter of man's dark side. RFA goes from Nine Inch Nails to Royksopp in the blink of an eye with songs like "Happy Love Song" and "As If It Were That Easy."
Stakka's mixer magic shines on the 80's dance throwback "So Fine;" a song that could easily fit between New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle" and The Cure's "Love Song" on any 80's night set list. "I'm a big fan of processing, even to the point of extremes," describes Stakka. "It could be something simple at the end of a track, like a whole beat section sinking into a filter or going through a bit-cruncher, [but] if you keep that processing mentality going then you can get to an interesting place."