Radical Dance Faction - Borderline Cases LP

Artist: Radical Dance Faction
Title: Borderline Cases
Source: Vinyl 12" LP
Format: FLAC
Running time (h:m:s): 00:46:40
Size (mb): 296
Label: Earth Zone Records (defunct)
Year: 1990

RDF could regularly be found in a field during the free festival heydays of the 80's and 90's, dishing out their pared-back bass-heavy ambient dub sounds that were the perfect foil to vocalist Chris Bowsher's poetical drone-like delivery (and I mean that in a good way). The lyrics are abstract without being meaningless, reflecting the world at the time as seen through jaded but hopeful eyes. A perfect example on this album is the track 'Hot On The Wire', where Bowsher recounts his experiences as a witness to the Hungerford massacre, when a lone gunman went on a killing spree in the quiet Berkshire market town, with haunting honesty. Bowsher's rumoured taste for opiates were possibly influential on the style but the lyrics are not junkie stoner meanderings, more a personal attempt to capture and convey the zeitgeist running through the underground.

RDF have been back in occasional action over the last couple of years, and have a new album due out some time this month if all goes to plan. Until then, you could do worse than to grab this classic. At first the whole thing may strike you as depressing but give it time and I think you'll 'get it' as much as I do. And if you don't, well, that's fine too.

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