Karn8
Rotten

How can I describe this record? That’s a rhetorical question, in case you were one of the cynical people who deigned to think that I was stuck for words! What I mean is, how do I convey this strange feeling I’m getting from listening to it.

The artwork takes on a fairly dark theme, the band photo is positively metal and the opening chords suggest an angsty onslaught of hardcore screams. What you don’t expect is a really sleazy, but very dance-couture collection of songs that takes the Bodyrockers, Nelly Furtado, and Allison Goldfrapp and mixes them with a heavy slice of that cock-rock ballsy guitar rock and adds a bit of goth to the dancefloor grind.

‘Mirror Mirror’ is the real gemstone, with guitars that take on a fuzzy beauty while the vocal suggestively drools the lyrics in a style reminiscent of Brazilian Girls.

This is a truly great single, with some fairly disparate styles combining to create a cracking sound that could see the first ever industrial versus clubhouse dance floor face down – like a twisted-up scene from White Chicks (you just have to pitch your leather-trench coats against the likes of Jamie King’s socialites and you’ll get the picture). You really should check them out!

Watch Karn8 – Rotten

Karn8

Written by Smith on 28th November 2006

Stuart 'Saur' Smith was a prolific writer for The Mag throughout the magazine's lifetime. He combined a day job of temporary office jobs in London with a nightlife of trawling the capital's music venues looking for talent. As well as writing about music, he was a session musician who featured on a number of singles in the 90s. Today, Stuart is a Chief Writer for Phonotonal.