CUTS are one of the lucky few acts to be signed to Portishead mastermind Geoff Barrow's Invada Records label. Dark, brooding and sonically powerful - CUTS' debut EP shows them to be a startlingly well realised act; sounding like a lovechild of the best of My Bloody Valentine and Massive Attack.
CUTS is primarily an audiovisual project where the music and video work to inform each other. Influenced by "abandoned spaces, white noise and sleep paralysis," the music on EP1 is powerful, heavy on feedback and distortion, and jarring against the beautiful summer weather it is released against. For a solo project a little over eighteen months old, CUTS' debut EP is an impressive mix of pounding industrial drums ('CUTS 02'), delicate vocals hiding deep in feedback ('CUTS 03') and an ability to use synthesisers as effectively as guitars ('CUTS 05').
The whole EP has clear influences from the powerful build of Mogwai tracks to the My Bloody Valentine-esque use of distortion and distant vocals. The Portishead influence can be seen in the dark nature of the release but CUTS never feel like a tribute act to their influences. The visual side of CUTS' EP1 brings "a series of films inspired by interpretations of dream spaces and blurred realities". These films are a varied collection of nightmarish visions as an accompaniment to the music. While CUTS was conceived as an audiovisual project the music more than justifies itself as a standalone entity without the mysterious videos.
Experimental industrial music is a tricky genre to produce music in and even more difficult to navigate, but CUTS have stormed onto the scene creating an EP that not only has mainstream crossover appeal but has a solid and unique aesthetic thanks to the holistic approach to creating their art. EP1 is one of the best realised and executed releases of the year.
