Factory Floor – Real Love review

Factory Floor’s career to date has seen a thrilling graduation from the Joy Division leanings of their early material such as Outside Sound – “Bipolar” in particular – to modern day sonic terrorists feted by everyone from Throbbing Gristle’s Carter and Tutti to respected disco jockeys like Rory Phillips and Stopmakingme.

This coming of age was fully signposted by last year’s thumping “Lying” – a track that demonstrated the London trio are one of a few bands in today’s climate whose sole priority seems to be how far they can push the sonic envelope whilst retaining a sense of rhythm and melody. Factory Floor releasing “Real Love” on the Optimo Music imprint seems like such a perfect fit and we can only hope that the relationship results in more than this sole release together.

As with all Factory Floor material, “Real Love” is perhaps best heard live as part of panoramic Quadrophonic Sound rig the band currently employ, but here on vinyl it still packs a veritable sonic punch to your guts – driven by a throbbing industrial synth arpeggio that rises and falls amidst a multitude of sonic crescendos and backed with the hypnotic vocal leanings of Nik Void.

With the original so close to harsh perfection, there are few people on this earth who could match or even better the track, amongst them JD Twitch – a man familiar with abrasive rhythms (as anyone who has heard his under appreciated hoover rave remix of Dave P & Adam Sparkles can testify). The Optimo Espacio remix can only be described as jaw droppingly monstrous – applying that arpeggiated lead to a rising cloak of sensory destroying sonics which seem specifically designed for that elation filled moment of dancefloor ecstasy where people have forgotten everything apart from the primal urge to dance.

Tony Poland