Missed The 50: Errors

Missed The 50
Errors 
‘Come Down With Me’
(Rock Action)

It’s always a bit of a bummer when one of your favourite albums of the year doesn’t even scrape into The Fly’s Top 50.  I’ve written for the magazine for many years now (sucks to be old) and still regard its end of the year list as one of the most genuine and refreshingly politics free. That’s why I was shocked that Errors’ ‘Come Down With Me’ didn’t feature in the writers’ picks, this record is what The Fly is all about; energetic, honest, imbued with passion and utterly scene-less. Democracy be damned, scribe colleagues I loathe you right now! I put this record at number one, and here are the reasons why…

Errors’ second offering is based on a simple concept really: just beautiful electronic music with a heart, akin to Gold Panda’s ‘Lucky Shiner’ in that sense, but also with the range of influences behind it sounds totally different to everything else around right now. There’s a little Mogwai in there (the scratchy riff build of ‘Antipode’), bits and pieces of indie twee (French spoken word samples in a Scottish accent at the start of ‘Supertribe’ and glockenspiels of ‘Sorry About The Mess’) and lots of Can-esque twists and turns (particularly on ‘Germany’) but what left the biggest impact when I first listened to these tracks was the strong sense of melody driving them. The band had me singing along with synth lines for god’s sake.

I’d always been interested in Errors but never hugely connected with the Glasgow foursome’s music. ‘Come Down With Me’ changed all of that this year. And the fact that I obsessed over it was a real surprise. Lyrics are a really important aspect of songwriting for me but this one has none – usually a stumbling block for me - but ‘Come Done With Me’ just really, really works as an instrumental record; it makes it even more affecting as a result.

Repeated listening subsequently revealed layers and layers of sonic patchwork, a wealth of creativity and a frighteningly compulsive attention to detail. However, the music never sounds self-indulgent or loses any of its drive and energy – a trap that bands can often fall into; quite the opposite in fact. ‘Come Down With Me’ is stripped down and sublimely romantic in places (on ‘The Black Tent’ particularly) and fresh and punchy throughout. Months on I still get excited when I listen to it.

Ultimately though I chose ‘Come Down With Me’ as my record of the year because it is one of those great, great albums that steers clear of throwaway trends, it’s modern yet timeless, and so I know it is going to stay with me. Of course I’m keen to hear what its makers come up with next but I wouldn’t mind if Errors decided to abandon the sound they explored here completely. These songs are perfect as they are, you see, and I honestly don’t think they can be bettered. So move on Errors as you must and I will come with you, sneaking back every so often to delve into the utterly compelling musical world you created here.

Camilla Pia