Clear Static - Make-up Sex (Single)

Call me old fashioned, but I always thought make-up sex was supposed to be violent, confrontational and – if you are lucky enough to find the right freaky, freaky – vulgar fun. Guess someone forgot to clue-in the boys at Clear Static, because their debut single “Make Up Sex” shows all the creativity and pizzazz of another ho-hum evening stuck in the missionary position. These Hollywood hopefuls look like Flock of Seagulls, sound like Frankie Goes to Hollywood, but at least put out original, albeit somewhat tired, material. Their music seems to hover in the nether regions between electronica and 80s glam, borrowing freely from the dance-pop school of songwriting. Their sound is punctuated by flirty keyboards, repetitive hooks and an androgynous singing style that will be all too familiar to devotees of club music. This disc contains eight versions of “Make Up Sex,” a collection that more often than not leaves you limp but manages a few curious rises. The LP and extended LP version of the song are easily forgettable – at least they would be if they weren’t so painfully repetitive. DJ Jeff Barringer’s Retro-Sexual remix embraces the cheesiness of it’s 80s ancestry and toss in enough hokey effects to make the music fun again. Likewise, the Claude Le Gache Extended Vocal mix makes the derivative that much dancier by kicking the electronic baseline up a notch and adding in some funkier beats. Eddie’s Trash Mix is the most hypnotic of the cuts, stretching the song to an eight-plus minute homage to all things industrial that doesn’t make your ears bleed. The Mount Sims Breakup Sex Mix is trippier, dropping the vocals back to whisper and transforming the song into a jazzy, funky festival of truly out-there beats. [www.clearstaticmusic.com]