An outstanding debut from this (near)instrumental
Irish-French two piece. Occupying the heavy (and less po-faced) end of math
rock, Bicurious are a party band masquerading as auteurs. Yes, there’s
the genre’s complex time signatures, but there’s also the odd chugging riff,
some sterling sample-bothering (goats!), and a significant dance rock
underpinning. More hyper than hypotenuse, (re)constructed is playful and
raw math rock. Like a weird mix of Public Service Broadcasting, The
Whip and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Bicurious score some big
‘something a bit different’ points. That is one reason this has placed so high.
The other is consistency. ‘We’re All Totally Fucked’ takes a, shall we say,
philosophical approach to the pandemic, and is excellent, especially in its
second half. ‘Palapalapa’ is their bid
for acceptance, as the most accessible track on show (in a good way), with a
chorus that could be sung on football terraces. ‘Like We Used To’ is all about
the opening drums. And album best
‘Deconstructed’ takes a simple jarring refrain, messes with it till it’s
something entirely different, and then cracks it open with a riff to die for.
Overall, (re)constructed is refreshing, complicated, delicate, heavy and
occasionally delightfully silly. Goats.