Sock Free Hideaway

BEATS OF LOVE 

42. Additions to the Dance by Swittch

SWITTCH ARE a band that has only ever found a home on compilations. 

With the same song. Firstly, on Tracks on the Green, an 84 comp on the obscure Real Time Sound productions label. And now on Perfect Motion, a comp lovingly assembled with by Bruno (Perfect Lives) and Flo Dill. I missed out on a stock copy of Random Access's delightfully abstract oddity Bodywork, so this was bought on sight.

That this track has instead been my major fix is surprising. From behind, the lead singer is the spit of Bonnie Tyler. And the band also look disappointingly Uber 80s in their burgundy leathers and all in one stripe. Beyond those deeply troubling sensory impressions that I've brought upon myself, all I have to play with is the music. Which is amazing. Imagine Jody Watley edited by a wizard with the DIY ethos and you're halfway there.

What is so great about the whole comp is its total lack of information. Other than the artists and titles and some understated cricket themed graphics, there's no accompanying notes. I have to go back to 2011 when After the Void was released to recall a time when just the music simply blew my mind. 

Unlike that mindblower, which is now blocked from sale on Discogs, this one has the writer's full blessing and is also a super crisp sounding pressing to boot. Everyone since, it seems, has either used their own curatorial skills or hired in a big name writer to wax lyrical in a spirit of self-promotion that often undermines the artists themselves.  

It's actually enough to convince me to shut the fuck up.