The Details: Led Er Est/Ancien Régime, Split 12” EP (Mannequin, 2010)
A Short Review: When Led Er Est played our OSCILLATIONS party the other night, we couldn’t help but notice the vellum-sheathed split LP on their merch table–an import-only pressing from Italy’s Mannequin Records. Sure enough, it features five cold-pressed exclusives, including a laser-tagged Solid Space cover (“A Darkness In My Soul”), Mute-d noise/darkwave instrumentals (“PS 18,” “Ants”), and a sleek slice of post-punk (“Orange”). If you live in the New York area, you definitely need to snag this at one of the trio’s local shows, especially since it goes for way too many euros overseas.
As for Ancien Régime, we honestly hadn’t heard of the Roman band before dropping the needle down. True to their insert photo, the quartet is ready for whatever Cold Cave/Interpol comparisons you can come up with, with a heavy focus on beat-backed hooks and minimalist melodies. That said, they sound very 2003, which is going to sound flat-out awesome or annoying depending on your disposition. Personally, we’re into it, especially the locked groove at the end.
