By William Ruben Helms

Two Worlds Collide EP

Freebass
Two Worlds Collide EP
Hacienda Records

As the story is told, Freebass, a band formed around three bassists came about during a drunken night between legendary denizens of the Manchester scene Peter Hook (Joy Division, New Order) and Gary Mounfield (Primal Scream). In interviews Hook has been quoted as saying that the band was a reaction to both his and Mounfield’s bands being in a lengthy hiatuses. Andy Rourke (The Smiths) was recruited to join up with the general idea that Mounfield would play the lower parts, Rourke would be somewhere in the middle and Hook would play the higher registers. Interestingly, when the news came out that Rourke, Hook and Mounfield were collaborating, I remember that there were a lot of critics and fans who dismissed the effort as being ridiculous and downright laughable. Initially, the Manchester based group wanted to recruit a bunch of different singers to sing songs – and the list reportedly included Billy Corgan and Liam Gallagher. Both of which probably wouldn’t have worked well anyway. After all, the project flies in the face of all known rock and pop conventions. And, as a general rule supergroups are viewed – at least by critics – with a healthy level of suspicion and derision.

It took several years but when the Two Worlds Collide EP dropped, I suspect that there were critics across the world who stifled guffaws and rolled their eyes. And although we critics are a cynical and jaded lot, I think it’s a bit difficult to immediately dismiss this EP. Sure a song like “You Don’t Know This About Me” sounds a lot like Get Ready-era New Order but if they continued without Bernard Sumner singing lead – at least up until the bridge which sounds a bit like it could have come from an old Stone Roses or Primal Scream song before ending abruptly. “Milky Way” is reminiscent of the Stone Roses with the same sort of jangling, shimmering rhythm guitars. “Death Starr” is by the far the most original sounding song on the entire EP. Some terribly pretentious poetry recited by Howard Marks in a Vincent Price-inspired vocal performance are backed with a propulsive bass line that pulls the song forward. The beginning of the song reminds me of “Come With Us,” the lead track on the Chemical Brothers’ Come With Us album. Both songs channel some avant garde tendencies. To the song’s credit it kind of works in a rather unexpected way. “Live Tomorrow,” sounds a lot like Power, Corruption and Lies-era New Order, full of synthesizers, drum machines, electronic blips and boops, as guitar and bass are played with what sounds like delay pedal and slight reverb. It’s all funky, danceable while being expectedly trippy and industrial but at the same time, not terribly original.

Two Worlds Collide seems to depend heavily on the winning formulas of beloved and legendary Manchester bands which is wonderful – if you want to hear Primal Scream, New Order and the Stone Roses or songs that sound a bit like an organic mishmash of all three. It’s abundantly clear Rourke, Hook and Mounfield have a natural chemistry and simpatico throughout the record. The songs feel as though the band was having fun which is probably something you might not be able to say about the last New Order album, for example. However, that simpatico doesn’t always equal growth as musicians or as a band. The album feels a bit stalled in the great reputations and efforts of their collective pasts. Because I’ve been a fan of all three of their bands, it’s encouraging to see these three are at it again these days, but it’ll be interesting to see where this leads the band. Until then, Freebass may sadly be a mildly interesting footnote in Manchester music history and for the careers of Rourke, Hook and Mountfield.

Release Date: March 26, 2010

Song List:

1.    Intro
2.    You Don’t Know (This About Me) feat. Tim Burgess
3.    The Milky Way feat. Pete Wylie
4.    Dark Starr feat. Howard Marks
5.    Live Tomorrow You Go Down
6.    That’s Life