Clay Class
“We’re happy in pieces/Happy in bits,” sing Suzi Horn and Tobin Prinz of the Portsmouth, England duo Prinzhorn Dance School. They might be talking about their emotions; they’re definitely describing their music. Prinzhorn’s second album is all about pieces and bits – fragments of rhythm and melody, a bassline chunk here, a snare drum shard there – arranged and rearranged like a jigsaw puzzle. When the pieces slot together, the result is ingeniously minimalist art-pop: “The Flora and Fauna of Britain in Bloom” combines Horn’s thrumming bass, Prinz’s kickdrum, a sinisterly pealing guitar, and a mordantly monotone vocal into something spooky, transfixing, and (intentionally or not) hilarious. Clay Class is nearly an indie classic. All that’s missing are tunes—not quite enough of those bits.
Listen to “Happy In Bits”:
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• Photos: Random Notes