Track Of The Day #863: Dead Buttons – Desire

Rumour has it that the makers of the English dictionary are taking all definitions of the word “urgent” out of all future editions of their hallowed tomes, and replacing them merely with these two words: Dead Buttons.  Obviously, I am saying this in jest, but the truth is this: nothing epitomises urgency better than this colossal-sounding South Korean duo.

‘Desire‘, their new single, begins with apocalyptic Burundi style beats like Adam and The Ants on black market steroids.  Grand swathes of vigorous reverb soak Jihyun Hong’s uncompromising vocals so dramatically that there is a palpable feeling of a steady unease throughout, as though the music is a time bomb ready to explode in our faces at any given moment.  And sure enough, it does.   But rather than leaving us bloodied and ruddy-faced, ‘Desire’ holds us in its vice-like grip and ramps up the intensity so we feel as though we’ve just carried out our first ever skydive: terrifying but oh my, what a rush!