Tic Toc Tokyo – ‘Ritual’

Tic Toc Tokyo – ‘Ritual’

‘Ritual’ is certainly an appropriate name for a song that’s more meditative and deconstructive than the average pop outing – it’s the kind of thing that you can imagine actually being played at a tribal gathering (in, um, late 70s London). The repetitive form of this song, which some have labelled as directionless, is the very mechanism that draws the listener into its meditative groove on repeated listens. The main section of the song – consisting of sharp, sticcato vocals, delayed guitar lines, a dirty and incessant bassline and a four on the floor drum pattern – is punctuated only by the odd instrumental break. The reverbed melodica and half-time drum beat toward the end establishes a common but effective finale of tension and release that keeps the song progressing even as it retreads its path. Haunting and enchanting.

‘Ritual’ moves to dissolve the pejorative tone in the frequent post-punk comparisons and elevates the band beyond superficial imitators. It signals great things should the synthesis of their influences continue to be this successful and alluring.

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